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DERRY     COLUMBKILLE 




DERRY 


' 

W- 


- 


COLUMBKILLE 


SOUVENIR  r/u/* 

CENTENARY  "CELEBRATIONS, 

IN  HONOUR  OF  St.  COLUMBA, 

In   the   Long   Tower   Church,  Derry, 

I-**  J897-99. 


Cloth,    Price   2/6 


SDeMcation. 

TO    THE 

PROMOTERS    AND    MEMBERS    OF    THE    SACRED    HEART    SODALITY, 

WHOSE  PIETY  AND  ZEAL  MADE  THE    FEASTS  OF  ST.   COLUMBA,   IN    1897  AND 
IN    1898,  DAYS  EVER  TO  BE  REMEMBERED   IN  DERRY, 

TTbis  Booklet 

IS    GRATEFULLY    INSCRIBED,    IN    THE    HOPE    AND    WITH    THE    PRAYER    THAT    ITS 
PUBLICATION    MAY,    UNDER    THE    PATRONAGE    OF    ST.    COLUMBA, 

TEND    TO    PROMOTE    DEVOTION    TO    THE 

SACRED   HEART   OF  JESUS   AND    THE   IMMACULATE    CONCEPTION 
IN  DERRY  COLUMBKILLE. 


PREFACE. 

THERE  is  nothing  new,  nothing  hitherto  unknown,  about  Saint  Columba  to  be  found 
in  this  volume.  It  possesses  no  literary  charm,  and  can  lay  no  claim  to  strict 
historical  worth.  It  is  merely  the  story  of  Saint  Columba,  told  by  a  Derry  priest 
to  Derry  people,  and  a  brief  record  of  the  various  churches  that,  in  turn,  have 
occupied  the  site  of  his  Dubh-Regles,  and  of  different  persons  connected  therewith. 

There  are  many  points  of  deep  interest  in  the  history  of  our  city  that  I  have 
left  untouched,  for  my  aim  has  been  devotional  rather  than  historical.  Neither  have 
I  written  for  the  general  public,  but  only  for  the  members  of  our  Sodality,  and  their 
friends  abroad.  The  Festivals  of  Saint  Columba,  in  1897  and  in  1898,  demanded 
some  record  of  what  then  took  place,  as  well  as  some  explanation  of  the  motives 
that  animated  them.  Such  I  have  in  these  pages  endeavoured  to  make.  To 
enumerate  all  to  whom  I  owe  grateful  acknowledgment  in  the  preparation  of  this 
little  volume,  would  be  impossible.  I  cannot,  however,  forbear  mentioning  my 
special  indebtedness  to  his  Lordship  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  O'Doherty,  who  placed 
his  splendid  library  at  my  service,  and,  by  his  own  personal  research,  cleared  up  many 
doubtful  points.  From  the  Rev.  Philip  O'Doherty,  P.P.,  M.R.I. A.,  and  the 
Rev.  Joseph  M'Keefry,  M.R.I. A.,  I  also  received  much  valuable  assistance. 

To  Mr.  Frank  Coghlan,*  photographer,  Carlisle-road,  I  owe  a  great  deal 
more  than  a  perfunctory  acknowledgment  can  discharge.  He  not  only  exerted 
himself  most  generously  to  take  or  procure,  at  his  own  expense,  most  of  the 
photographs  appearing  in  this  volume,  but  also  helped  in  many  other  ways  in  its 
preparation. 

Mr.  Daniel  Conroy,  Architect,  and  Mr.  M'Devitt,  Art  School,  have  placed  me 
under  many  obligations  by  their  chaste  drawings  of  incidents  from  the  life  of 

*  Tt  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  state  that  Mr.  Coghlan  has  for  hire  a  set  of  lantern  slides 
on  the  "  Life  of  Saint  Columba,"  embracing  nearly  all  the  photograms  contained  in  this 
volume. 


v"l  PREFACE. 

Saint  Columba ;  the  cameras  of  Messrs.  James  M'Crory  and  Frank  Schlindwein 
have  also  enriched  my  pages  with  many  beautiful  illustrations. 

I  have  not  touched  on  the  memorable  display  which  Gartan  witnessed  on 
June  gth,  1897,  because  full  justice  has  been  done  it  in  the  beautiful  volume  issued 
by  Messrs.  Gill  &  Son,  to  whom,  as  well  as  to  THE  IRISH  ROSARY,  I  am  very  much 
indebted  for  the  loan  of  blocks. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  add,  that  :  "  In  obedience  to  the  decrees  of 
Urban  VIII.,  I  protest  that,  for  the  miraculous  deeds  and  'gifts  ascribed  in  this 
little  book  to  certain  servants  of  God,  I  claim  no  other  belief  than  that  which  is 
ordinarily  given  to  history  resting  on  mere  human  authority  ;  and  that,  in  giving 
the  appellation  of  Saint  or  Blessed  to  any  person  not  canonized  or  beatified  by  the 
Church,  I  only  intend  to  do  it  according  to  the  usage  and  opinion  of  men." 


WILLIAM  DOHERTY,  c.c. 


DERRY, 

Feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Good  Counsel, 
April  26th,  1899. 


CONTENTS. 


St.  Columba,  his  name 

St.  Columba,  his  boyhood          .  . 

St.  Columba  at  school 

St.  Columba  a  priest     .. 

St.  Columba's  foundation  at  Derry 

St.  Columba's  personal  appearance 

St.  Columba,  advocate  of  temperance     . . 

St.  Columba's  Holy  Hour 

St.  Columba's  stone 

Relic  of  the  True  Cross 

St.  Columba's  use  of  Sacramentals 

Apparition  of  our  Lord  to  St.  Columba  . 

St,  Brendan's  visit  to  Derry 

St.  Columba's  College,  Derry    . . 

Rule  of  St.  Columba 

Stations  of  the  Cross 

Holy  Wells 

St.  Columba's  love  of  relics 

St.  Martin's  Gospel 

Durrow 

Kells 

St.  Columba's  devotion  to  St.  Brigid 

Swords 

St.  Columba,  his  exile 

St  Columba's  pilgrimage  to  lona 

St.  Columba's  first  Mass  in  lona 

A  great  Derry  Saint 

Conversion  of  the  Picts 

The  Scots 

The  great  Convention  o  fDrumceatt 

Miracles  at  Drumceatt 

Weekly  Communion     . . 

St.  Columba's  visitations 

Day's  work  in  lona 

Mass  in  Himba 

Angel  visitants 

The  power  of  charity 

Flashes  from  the  Tabernacle      . . 

The  approach  of  death 

Love  for  all  things  Irish 

Last  Saturday  on  earth 

History  of  Columba's  relics 

St.  Eugene 

St.  Eugene's  Cathedral 

St.  Eugene's  successor 

St.  Patrick's  visit 

St.  Mura 


j  St.  Baithen 

7  St.  Adamnan  (Eunan) 

9  St.  Gelasius 

12  Blessed  Flathbert  O'Brolcain     . .  ic 

15  St.  Maurice  of  Derry    .. 

24  Last  glories  of  lona 

25  Destruction  of  the  Templemore 

26  Raymond    O' Gallagher,    the    martyr- 

27  bishop 

29  St.  Dominic's  Priory,  Derry 

30  Fathers  John  and  William  O'Loughlin   . . 
32  Father  James  Hegarty 

32  Hegarty's  Rock 

33  Long  Tower  of  Derry  . .  . .  17, 

34  Holy  dead  of  Long  Tower 

36  Present  Long  Tower  Church  (1784-1890) 

37  Sacred  Heart  Sodality 

39  Further  glimpses  of  Derry,  Columbkille 

40  St.  Columba's  old  schools 

42  St    Columba's  new  schools 

43  St.  Columba's  old  Long  Tower  Bazaar 

44  St.  Columba's  hall 

45  St.  Columba's  convent  schools  . 
47  St.  Columba's  Church,  Waterside 
50  St.  Columba's  schools,  Waterside 

56  Very  Rev.  Charles  M'Faul,  P.P.,  Water- 

56  side 

57  Columban  antiquities,  Waterside 

58  St.  Columba's  Presbytery,  Long  Tower  . . 
58  Cistertian  Nunnery 

60  Brow-of-Hill  . .  . .  . .  Is, 

62  St.  Columb's  College   . .  . .         23,  33 

63  Nazareth  House 

64  Reprints  from  Derry  Journal — 

65  Thirteenth    Centenary     Celebration, 

65  1897 

66  Hymn  of  St.  Columba 

66  Children's  procession,  1897 

67  Removal  of  St.  Columba's  stone        28 

68  The  Calvary 

69  Unveiling  of  the  Calvary     . .  27 
73               Children's  processions,  1898 

75  Street  decorations  . .         «• 

78  Editorial  (Derry  Journal,  June  loth, 

81  1898)     .. 

82  Novena    . . 

85  The  Calvary  and  its  lessons  29 


19, 


19, 


88 
94 
-  95 
96 
98 
99 

100 
103 
108 
109 
no 

112 

116 
118 

126 
126 
127 
129 
129 

!30 

132 

134 

133 

136 
136 


142 


146 

J5° 

156 
159 
162 
164 
1 66 
167 

172 
161 
175 


ECCE    HOMO* 


CALVARY,    ENSHRINING    SAINT    COI.UMBA'S  'STONE,    LONG  iTOWER,    DERRY. 


SAINT    COLUMBA 

"THE    DOVE  [OF*  THE    CHURCH." 


ANCIENT    chronicles     say    that 
one  bright  sunny  day  in  the 
autumn    of    521,  Ethne,    the 
wife  of    Felim,  Chieftain    of 
Kilmacrenan,    sat   day-drean>' 
ing  in  the  flowery  meadows  that  skirt  the 
River  Swilly.     All  at  once  an  angel  ap 
peared  to  her  from  the  grey  clouds, 'bear 
ing  in  his  hand  a  delicate  veil,  woven  of 
the  brightest  and  fairest  flowers  the  gar 
dens  of  heaven  produce.     He  unfolded  it 
and  let  it  fall  down  towards  her ;  but  the 


breezes  caught  it  up,  and,  as  if  its  folds 
were  never  to  end,  wafted  it  far  and  wide 
over  earth  and  sea.  Ethne  clutched  at  it 
in  vain.  The  tears  started  to  her  eyes,  as 
she  saw  it  slipping  away  from  her  eager 
grasp.  "  Weep  not,"  said  the  angel,  "  for 
this  robe  merely  typifies  the  child  you 
bear,  whose  fame  for  sanctity  will  spread 
everywhere,  and  who  shall  garner  for 
heaven  flowers  and  fruits  from  every 
corner  of  the  world." 

It  was  of  Columba,  the  great  exile-saint 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


of  Erin,  this  prophecy  was  uttered.       Its       race,  whose  greatest  saint  and  most  power- 
fulfilment  is  evidenced,  not  only  by  his       ful  patron,  after  Patrick,  he  is.     Messing- 


RUINS    OF    THE    CLD    CHURCH    OF    SAINT    COLUMBA.    AT    GARTAN. 

long  and  fruitful  life,  but  also  by  the  con-       harn^  indeed,  in  his  Florilegium,  does  not 
tinued  Apostleship  of  the  scattered  Irish       except  even  Patrick,  nor  limit  Columba's 


ANOTHER    VIEW    OF    OLD    CHURCH    AT    GARTAN. 
Partly  6th  century.    A  "Torish''  or  "Station"  is  made  here  in  honour  of  Saint  Columba  and  the  Blessed  Virgin. 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


THE    IMMACULATE    CONCEPTION. 
On  the  eve  ot  vhich 'Feast  Columba  was  born 


SAIXT   COLUMBA. 


supremacy  of  sanctity  to  the  shores  of  Ire 
land  ;  for  he  says  (page  182),  quoting  from 
the  Martyrology  of  Saint  Notker  Babulus, 
"  there  is  not  any  saint  on  the  calendar, 
except  the  Apostles  and  Blessed  Martin,  to 
whom  Columba  is  inferior.  His  prophetic 
gifts,  his  power  of  miracle,  his  learning, 
angels,  all  combine  to  stamp  him  as  far  be 
yond  the  average,  even  in  the  ranks  of  the 
saints." 

There    is    not    in    the    annals    of    the 
world  a  grander  chapter  than  that  which 


He  was  bom  on  the  yth  of  December, 
521,  at  Gartan,  in  the  County  of  Donegal. 
His  father,  Felim,  was  a  grandson  of  the 
celebrated  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  and 
his  mother  was  Ethne,  daughter  of 
MacNave,  a  Leinster  chieftain.  From 
chronicles  of  a  later  date  we  gather  that  the 
O'Friel  family  claimed,  and  were  allowed, 
the  honour  of  closest  blood  relationship 
with  Saint  Columba,  on  his  father's  side; 
while  his  mother's  clan  would  probably 
correspond  to  that  of  Murphy  now-a-days. 


Block  kindly  lf»t  by\  LOUGI,     VEAGH,    LOWER    GARTAN    LAKE.  [Aftssrs.  GUI  &>  Son. 


tells  how  Ireland  won  her  title  "  Island  of 
Saints  and  Scholars,"  and  of  all  the  names 
which  adorn  those  golden  pages  not  one 
can  compare  in  lustre  or  eminence  with 
that  of  Columba.  Whether  we  regard 
him  as  saint,  patriot,  or  scholar,  he  un 
questionably  heads  the  list  of  those  bom 
in  Ireland. 

It  is  not,  however,  to  any  of  these  quali 
ties  that  he  owes  the  place  he  holds  in 
the  hearts  of  the  Irish  people.  He  is  the 
dearest  of  all  our  saints  because  he  had 
the  greatest  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacra 
ment — because  he  is  par  excellence  the 
Irish  Saint  of  the  Eucharist,  and  as  such 
only  we  shall  treat  of  him  in  these  pages. 


They  lived  ordinarily  at  Kilmacrenan, 
where  an  abbey,  whose  ruins  are  still  ex 
tant,  subsequently  occupied  the  site  of 
their  home,  but  on  the  occasion  of  our 
saint's  birth  they  were  dwelling  in  a  tent 
on  the  uplands  of  Gartan,  where,  on  the 
7th  of  December,  the  eve  of  the  future 
feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  the 
great  Irish  patron  and  model  of  devotion 
to  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  bom.  Pil 
grims  to  Gartan  still  note  the  coincidence, 
and  link  together  the  names  of  Columba 
and  Mary  Immaculate. 

Hard  by  the  spot  where  he  was  born, 
and  overlooking  the  mountain  tarns  that 
collectively  are  now  termed  the  "  Gartan 


SAINT    COLUMBA 


Lakes"  (but  used  in  older  times  to  be 
called,  the  lower  and  larger  one  Lough 
Veagh;  the  middle  one,  Lough-na-Gal- 
liagh  (the  Nun's  Lake) ;  and  the  upper 
one,  Lough  Akibbon),  are  the  ruins  of  an 
old  sixth  century  church,  to  which,  on 
"  Lady  Days,"  as  well  as  on  Columba's 
Day,  some  pious  Catholics  wend  their  way 
to  make  a  "  turish"  (turas)  or  station  of 
supplication  to  Mary  and  Columba.  Their 
favourite  prayer  now,  as  in  the  days  of  per 
secution,  is  the  rosary. 

The  flagstone  which  formed  the  floor  of 
Ethne's  tent  that  night,  is  still  pointed 
out  in  the  townland  of  Lacknacor. 
"  There  can  hardly  be  any  doubt,"  says 


still  to  be  found  the  ruina  of  Templedoug- 
las  Church,  within  which  he  was  baptized 
by  Saint  Cronaghan  probably  on  the  very 
Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 
Fosterage  was  then  the  rule,  or  custom, 
of  the  Irish  clans.  Boys  were  sent  away 
from  home  at  a  very  early  age,  and  placed 
under  the  care  of  some  bard,  soldier,  or 
priest,  who  should  educate  them  with  a 
special  view  to  their  future  occupation. 
Columba  was  to  be  a  priest,  and  so  when 
only  a  few  years  old,  we  find  him  with 
Saint  Cronaghan,  "  eluding  the  sports  of 
his  companions  on  the  banks  of  the  black 
watered  Douglas  to  pray  betimes  in  the 
Church." 


SAINT  COLOMBA'S  NATAL  STONE 


Bishop  Healy,  "  that  the  tradition  fixing 
the  spot  is  continuous  and  trustworthy. 
The  stone  is  worn  quite  bare  by  the  hands 
and  feet  of  pious  pilgrims ;  and, 
what  is  stranger  still,  some  of  the 
poor  emigrants  who  are  about  to 
quite  Donegal  for  ever,  come  and 
sleep  on  that  flag  the  night  before  their  de 
parture  from  Derry.  Columba  was  him 
self  an  exile,  and  they  fondly  hope  that 
sleeping  on  the  spot  where  he  was  born 
will  help  them  to  bear  with  lighter  hearts 
the  heavy  burden  of  the  exile's  sorrow." 
Within  a  few  miles  of  his  birthplace, 
as  well  as  of  his  parents'  home,  are 


It  has  been  sometimes  asserted,  without 
much  reliable  authority,  that  the  original 
name  of  our  Saint  was  Crimthan,  or 
Creivan.  But  his  most  ancient  and  ac 
curate  biographers,  who  lived  near  his 
own  times,  always  represent  him  alluding 
to  himself  as  Columba — a  fact  that  could 
hardly  be  reconciled  with  his  well-known 
humility  if  Columba  were  merely  a  com 
plimentary  name.  The  affix  cille  was 
added  while  he  was  yet  a  child,  not  merely 
to  distinguish  him  from  other  Columbas, 
but  also  to  denote  his  great  love  for  the 
Blessed  Sacrament. 

He  was    alwavs    to  be  found    in    the 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


church,  his  companions  said,  nestling  be 
side  the  altar  like  a  dove  by  its  nest; 
never  happy  when  away  from  the  taber 
nacle — always  in  a  flutter  of  anxiety  to  get 
back  again.  Hence  they  styled  him 
Columbkille — that  is,  Columba,  or  Colum, 
the  dove,  and  cille,  or  kills,  of  the  Church. 
The  Book  of  Lismore  tells  us  how  the 
fuller  name  came  to  be  permanently  his. 
One  day  his  master,  Finian,  came  towards 
a  group  of  his  young  companions  who 
were  sporting  on  the  green  holm  by 
Strangford  Lough.  "  Where  is  Columba  ?" 
he  asked.  "  Yonder,"  they  answered, 
"  coming  from  the  church — he  seems  to 
belong  to  it,  he  is  always  there."  "  Then," 
said  Finian,  "  let  him  be  known  hence 
forth  as  Columbkille,  the  Dove  of  the 
Church ; "  and  by  that  dear  name,  so 
expressive  of  Eucharistic  devotion,  so 
suggestive  of  holy  memories  and 
pious  thoughts,  he  has  ever  since 


been     known     to     his     admiring     coun 
trymen. 

Sometimes  the  name  is  rendered  "  Dove 
of  the  Churches,"  because  of  the  number 
he  built.  However  graceful  and  well-de 
served  that  title  may  be,  it  is  not,  as  Dr. 
Reeves  has  conclusively  proved,  an  ac 
curate  translation  of  Columbkille,  which 
is  singular  in  form,  and  was,  moreover, 
given  our  Saint  before  he  had;  ever  founded 
a  church  at  all.  What  a  pity  that  Irish 
parents  in  selecting  names  at  baptism  or 
confirmation  for  their  children,  do  not 
oftener  choose  that  of  Columba,  or  Colum. 

The  Feasts  of  Saint  Columba,  Virgin 
Martyr  of  Sens,  and  of  the  Blessed  Colum 
ba,  Dominican  Virgin  of  Rieti  (May  22) 
remind  us  that  girls  as  well  as  boys  may 
bear  the  dear  name.  In  fact,  Saint  Canice 
caused  his  own  little  half-sister,  while  even 
yet  our  saint  was  alive,  to  be  christened 
Columba. 


THE    PRESENTATION    OF    THE    CHILD    JESUS    IN    THE    TEMPLE, 
ourth  Mystery  of  the  Rosary. 


[     7     ] 


HIS    BOYHOOD. 


M 


ANY  pretty  stories  are  told  of 
Columba's  boyhood,  but  we 
must  content  ourselves  with 
three  culled  from  the  sober 
pages  of  Adamnan. 

"  One  morning  very  early,  while  it  was 
yet  dark,  Cronaghan,  returning  after  Mass 
from  the  church  to  his  dwelling,  found  his 
whole  house  irradiated  by  a  bright  light, 
and  saw  a  globe  of  fire  over  the  face  of 


repeat  and  chant  them.  One  day  when 
Cronaghan  had  taken  him  to  visit  the 
priest,  Brugach,  at  Ray,  in  the  neighbour 
hood  of  Deny,  he  was  present  in  the 
church  when  the  two  priests  were,  in  choir 
fashion,  alternately  chanting  the  day's 
office.  Cronaghan  became  confused  and 
v/as  unable  to  proceed  with  his  verse,  but 
Columba  immediately  caught  it  up  and 
continued  the  alternate  verses  to  the  end 


LOUGH-NA-GALLIAGH    AND    LOUGH    AKIBBON. 


the  sleeping  child  (Columba),  at  the  sight 
of  which  he  began  to  quake  with  fear,  but 
kneeling  down  he  at  once  understood  that 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  had  been 
poured  out  from  heaven  in  a  most  abun 
dant  manner  upon  his  foster-child." 

The  second  illustrates  his  attentiveness 
to  prayer  and  the  offices  of  the  Church. 
Child  though  he  was,  he  used  never  to 
miss  the  recitation  of  the  Divine  Office  in 
church.  From  listening  to  the  Psalms  he, 
being  possessed  of  a  wonderful  memory 
and  a  most  musical  ear,  came  to  be  able  to 


of  the  Psalm,  which  was  the  eighty-ninth. 
That  happened  at  a  time  when,  as  we  are 
told,  he  had  hardly  mastered  more  than 
the  alphabet. 

The  third  story  reads  like  a  page  from 
the  life  of  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi.  It  tells 
how  one  day  his  angel  guardian,  whom  he 
calls  Auxilius,  asked  him  what  special  vir 
tues  he  desired  from  God.  ''Virginity 
and  wisdom,"  replied  the  Saint.  "You 
have  chosen  so  well,"  said  the  angel,  "  that 
God  will  add  the  gift  of  prophecy  besides." 
Soon  after,  whilst  Columba  knelt  in 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


prayer,  three  young  maidens,  clad  in  gar-      asked,  "  we  are  thy  three  sisters,  Virginity, 
ments  of  heavenly  white,  stood  beside  him,       Wisdom,  and  Prophecy,  sent  by  God  to  be 


RUINS    OF    TEMPLE    DOUGLAS. 


but  Columba  prayed  on  and  heeded  them      your     inseparable    companions     through 
not.     "  Dost  thou  not  know  us  ?"  they      life." 


MONASTIC  RUINS,  KILMACRENAN,    WHERE    COLUMBA's    PARENTS    ORDINARILY    RESIDED. 


L     9     J 


COLUMBA  AT   SCHOOL. 


NEAR  Newtownards,  at  the  head 
of  Strangford  Lough,  are  the 
ruins  of  Moville  Abbey,  where 
once    Saint    Finian    held   his 
school,  and  Columba  studied. 
While  there  he  became  a  deacon,  and  his 
gift  of  miracles  first  manifested  itself  in 
connection  with  the   Blessed   Eucharist. 
One  day  whilst  he  ministered  at  the  altar 


their  ears.  Soon  the  poor  thing  came  in 
sight,  pursued  by  one  of  the  banditti,  with 
whom,  owing  to  the  frequency  of  clanish 
wars,  the  midlands  were  infested  at  the 
time.  Panting  and  breathless  she  reached 
them  just  as  her  pursuer  gained  upon  her. 
She  clutched  at  Gemman's  robe,  but  her 
assailant  instantly  drove  his  spear  through 
her  before  they  could  prevent  him,  and  she 


RUINS    OF    MOVILLE    ABBEY,    CO.  DOWN,  WHERE    COLUMBA    STUDIED. 


as  deacon,  it  was  found  that  the  wine  was 
wanting  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  He  in 
stantly  besought  God  to  show  forth  His 
power,  and  as  he  prayed  the  water  turned 
into  wine  in  the  cruet  which  he  held.  He 
attributed  the  miracle  to  Finian's  interces 
sion  with  God,  and  redoubled  his  devotion 
to  the  altar. 

From  Moville  he  betook  himself  to  the 
bardic  school  of  Gemman,  an  aged  Chris 
tian  bard,  famous  as  a  teacher  of  music 
and  poetry.  Columba  dearly  loved  both 
arts,  and  was  most  anxious  to  perfect  him 
self  in  them  before  engaging  in  the  more 
serious  studies  preparatory  to  the  priest 
hood. 

When  walking  one  day  in  the  fields  with 
Gemiman,  a  girl's  piercing  shriek  reached 


dropped  dead  at  Columba's  feet.  "  How 
long,  holy  youth,"  said  Gemman,  "  shall 
God  leave  this  crime  unpunished  ?"  "Only 
till  her  soul  shall  enter  heaven,"  replied 
Columba,  and,  as  they  prayed  for  her  soul, 
a  heavy  thud  on  the  ground  caused  them 
to  look  up.  The  murderer  had  fallen 
dead,  like  Ananias  at  the  feet  of  Saint 
Peter. 

About  this  time  a  strong  pressure  was 
put  upon  him  to  make  him  abandon  his 
priestly  vocation  and  qualify  for  the 
chieftaincy  of  his  clan,  and,  mayhap,  of 
Ireland.  The  spirit  of  wisdom,  however, 
which  was  still  with  him,  directed  his 
choice  and  guided  his  steps  to  the  great 
monastic  school  of  "  Saint  Finian,  at 
Clonard." 


IO 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


Over  3,000  pupils  were  at  one  time  as 
sembled  under  the  tutelage  of  Finian. 
No  ruins  now  mark  the  site  of  that  cele 
brated  institute,  which  exercised  such  a 
marvellous  influence  over  the  religion  and 
education  of  Ireland.  Finian  taught 
in  the  open  air.  His  scholars  housed 
themselves  as  best  they  could,  in  rude 
tents  scattered  over  the  meadows  by  the 


whom  he  ever  after  remained  on  terms  of 
closest  friendship. 

"  Once  there  appeared  to  Finian  a 
vision,  in  which  he  saw  two  moons,  one 
golden  and  the  other  silvern,  above  Clon- 
ard.  The  golden  moon  sailed  away  north 
wards  and  enlightened  Ireland  and  Scot 
land.  The  silver  moon  went  towards  the 
Shannon,  whence  its  gleams  brightened 


ANOTHER  STATION  CROSS  OF  SAINT  COLUMBA,  AT  GLENCOLUMBK  ILLE. 


junction  of  the  Boyne  and  the  Kinnegad. 
Their  food  was  of  the  plainest — meal 
(ground  by  themselves  by  means  of  hand 
querns),  fish,  and  milk.  Columba's  love 
of  study,  we  are  told,  was  such  that  even 
when  turning  his  quern  he  had  his  book 
open  before  him. 

Amongst  his  companions  were  such  il 
lustrious  Saints  as  Kevin,  Ciaran,  Cormac, 
Comgall,  Brendan,  and  Canice,  with  all  of 


the  centre  of  Ireland.  The  first  was  Col- 
umbkille,  with  the  grace  of  his  noble  kin 
and  his  wisdom ;  the  other  was  Ciaran  (of 
Clonmacnoise),  with  the  refulgence  of  his 
virtues  and  his  good  deeds." 

From  Clonard  he  passed  to  the  monas 
tery  of  Saint  Mobhi,  at  Glasnevin,  in 
Dublin.  His  more  intimate  friends  Corn- 
gall  (of  Bangor),  Ciaran  (of  Clonmac- 
noises),  and  Canice  (of  Limavady,  Co. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Deny,  from  whom  Kilkenny  derives  its 
name),  went  with  him.  One  day  when  the 
four  were  examining  the  new  church  just 
built  by  Mobhi,  that  master  asked  them, 
"  If  you  got  all  that  that  church  could  hold 
what  would  you  wish  it  filled  with  ?  Each 
gave  a  characteristic  answer.  Canice 
would  like  it  filled  with  good  books,  which 
would  lead  many  to  the  knowledge  and 


ceased,  however,  when  he  added  that  he 
would  iis^  that  gold  to  build,  endow,  and 
furnish  churches  and  schools,  monas 
teries,  and  hospitals  throughout  the 
land. 

The  church  stood  on  one  side  of  the 
Tolka;  the  huts  of  the  students  on  the 
other.  One  stormy  night,  when  the  bell 
for  matins  sounded  the  rivulet  was  so 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  "STATION  CROSS,"  GLENCOLUMBKILLE,  co.  DONEGAL. 


service  of  God.  Ciaran  would  rather  have 
it  filled  with  holy  men,  who  would  sing 
without  ceasing  the  praises  of  God.  Corn- 
gall  said  he  would  prefer  that  all  the  pains 
and  afflictions  of  the  world  were  gathered 
into  it,  that  he  might  suffer  them  all  for 
the  love  of  Christ.  All  were  astonished  to 
hear  Columba  declare  that  he  would  wish 
it  filled  with  gold.  Their  astonishment 


swollen  and  boisterous  that  all  except  Col 
umba  feared  to  cross  it.  Nothing,  how 
ever,  could  deter  him  from  the  service  of 
His  Master.  He  waded  through  the 
stream,  helped  his  companions  across,  and 
prayed  so  earnestly  to  God  that  when  the 
Office  was  over,  his  companions  found 
their  cells  had  been  miraculously  trans 
ferred  to  the  side  on  which  they  were. 


A    PRIEST. 


COLUMBA'S  studies  were  now 
ended.     He    was    twenty-five 
years  old.     The  time  for  his 
ordination      had      come,      in 
Mobhi's  judgment,  and  accord 
ingly  the  holy  young  deacon  was  sent,  in 
the  year  546,  to  Bishop  Etchen  of  Meath 
to  be  raised  to  the  priesthood.       It  is  a 
curious  illustration  of  the  then  simple  state 
of  society  that  Etchen,  who>  was  Columba's 
own  cousin  and   a   son   of  the  reigning 
Prince  of  Aileach,  was  actually  found  at 
the  plough  guiding  his  cattle. 

We  need  not  linger  on  the  fervour  that 
must  have  characterised  those  first  days  of 
Columba's  priesthood.     When  we  call  him 
once  more  "  Dove  of  the  Church,"  enough 
has  been  said.     A  pestilence   soon   after 
broke  up  Mobhi's  school.     Columba  set 
out  for  home,  travelling  through  O'Neill's 
country.     They  say  when  he  had  reached 
the  pretty  valley  of  the  Moyola  that  he 
halted  for  a  night,  and  in  the  morning 
offered   Mass  that   God   might  stay  the 
plague.     His  prayer  the  people  thought 
was    sure    to    be    heard,    and    so    they 
straightway    built     a     church     by     the 
bend     of     the     river     where     he     had 
celebrated    the    Holy    Sacrifice.       They 
prevailed  upon  him  to  present  that  hasty 
shrine  with  his  Missal,  and  even  to  this 
day  the  Irish  speakers  of  the  locality  call 
the  ruin  that  still  graces  the  valley  "  Col- 
umbkille's  Library."     A  screen,  or  shrine, 
enclosed  that  relic,  and  they  called,  and 
still  call,  the  parish  Ballinascreen,  "  the 
town  of  the  Shrine."     Columba  was  fond 
of  that  picturesque   glen,   and   often   re 
turned  to  it.     The  people  still  hold  his 
name  in  benediction,  and  are  noted  for 
their  love  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

Some  miles  off,  under  the  shadow  of 
Slieve  Gullion,  he  erected  another  chapel, 
at  a  later  date,  in  honour  of  his  patron, 
Saint  Martin.  Thither  he  used  to  retire 


many  a  time  for  quiet  prayer,  and  the  echo 
of  those  fervent  prayers  still  lingers  in  the 
name  of  the  parish,  Desertmartin,  or  the 
Retreat  of  Saint  Martin.  In  the  neigh 
bouring  parish  of  Kilcronaghan  he  dedi 
cated  a  church  to  the  memory  of  his  early 
tutor  and  fosterer,  Saint  Cronaghan.  The 
name  still  survives  to  attest,  if  proof  were 
needed,  how  ardently  practical  Columba's 
belief  was  in  the  "  Communion  of  Saints," 
and  how  he  had  no  sooner  ceased  to  pray 
for,  than  he  began  to  pray  to,  his  fosterer 
beyond  the  grave. 

We  have  followed  Columba  from  school 
to  school,  and  now  our  story  brings  him 
back  a  priest  to  Donegal.  He  made  but 
a  very  short  stay  there  on  this  occasion, 
but  he  seems  subsequently  to  have  visited 
every  mountain  and  glen  in  his  native 
county,  and  even  to  have  left  memorials 
of  his  priestly  zeal  in  all  the  islands  that 
dot  its  coast.  One  vast  glen  still  bears 
his  name,  Glencolumbkille. 

They  used  to  call  it  in  the  olden  days 
"  Sean  Glen,"  or  "  the  ancient  glen."  It 
was  said  to  be  infested  by  devils,  whom 
Columba,  with  his  bell  and  by  means  of 
his  fasting  and  prayers,  drove  into  the  sea. 
All  this  means  that  in  the  glen,  between 
the  mountains  and  the  sea,  dwelt  a  colony 
alien  to  Clan-Conal,  who  were  yet  pagans, 
and  to  whom  Columba  went  to  preach. 
He  rang  his  bell  here  and  there,  and  so 
gathered  them  round  him,  and  spoke  to 
them  of  the  one  True  God.  His  prayers 
and  fastings  drew  down  from  heaven  such 
powerful  graces  as  drove  them,  by  a  sweet 
necessity,  into  the  waters  of  baptism — into 
the  sea  of  mercy. 

The  "Holy  Well,"  where  they  were 
baptized,  is,  indeed,  by  the  shingly  beach, 
Glencolumbkille  is  studded  with  an 
cient  station  crosses,  of  which  we  have  re 
produced  two.  The  people  of  the  locality 
still  pray  as  they  pass  them,  and,  curious 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


to  relate,  mingle  with  their  prayers  the  in 
vocation  of  Saint  Gregory  the  Great,  the 
friend  of  Columba,  and  Saint  Catherine  of 
Alexandria,  the  Patroness  of  Learning. 
Tradition  says  it  was  for  quiet  meditation 
and  study  that  our  Saint  betook  himself  on 
occasions  to  that  distant  glen,  where  was 
probably  situated  Carrig-eolairg,  a  rocky 
cliff  to  which  Columba  used  often,  O'Don- 
nell  says,  retire  for  prayer,  penance,  and 
study.  The  beautifully  carved  crosses 


the  declining  years  of  her  life.  She  is 
hardly  as  well  known  to  tourists  as  Scott's 
"  Ellen,"  but  is  better  worth  a  passing 
thought. 

Before  leaving  Donegal  we  must  take  a 
look  at  Boon  Rock,  where  "  The  O'Don- 
nell"  used,  in  times  gone  by,  to  be  inau 
gurated.  Only  a  priest  of  the  O'Friel 
family  could  perform  that  function,  even 
when  a  bishop  was  present ;  and  none  but 
that  same  priest  was  allowed  to  lift  that 


•V<fe^A>P 


Phctol"}        [ROUND  TOWER,  TORY  ISLAND,  \_Kerr,\Deny 


perpetuate  the  memory  and  enforce  the 
practice  of  the  one,  the  name  of  Saint 
Catherine  implies  the  other. 

We  ought  here,  perhaps,  to  note  (by 
way  of  parenthesis)  that  Donegal  has  its 
own  Saint  Catherine,  who  is  not  as  well 
known  locally  as  her  fame  deserves.  Ken- 
tigerna  they  called  her  at  first  in  Scotland, 
but  afterwards  shortened  her  name  into 
Katrine,  and  conferred  it  upon  "  Loch 
Katrine,"  where  this  Donegal  widow  spent 


particular  "  Gartan  clay"  which  had  been 
sanctified  by  the  blessing  of  Columba  in 
the  long  ago.  Some  feeble-minded  people 
may  scoff  at  the  idea  of  any  reverence  at 
taching  to  mere  clay,  but  not  so  those  who 
have  humbly,  and  in  deference  to  Chris 
tian  custom,  scooped  a  little  from  under 
the  Olive  Trees  of  Gethsemane,  or  hauled 
it  up  from  the  deep  pit  of  the  Janiculum 
Hill,  where  Saint  Peter  was  crucified,  and 
O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  rest  in  peace.  The 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


honour  paid  to  His  saints  is  paid  to  Our 
Lord  Himself ;  and  as  they  were  "  to  do 
even  greater  wonders"  than  Himself  it  may 
be  that  a  little  of  the  virtue  that  He  con 
ferred  on  the  clay  with  which  He  rubbed 
the  blind  man's  eyes,  attaches  also  to  the 
clay  blessed  in  His  name  by  such  a  loving 
servant  as  Columba.  Such  things,  of 
course,  are  not  to  be  encouraged  unless 
where  God's  hand  is  clearly  seen;  but 
then  neither  are  such  remnants  of  by 
gone  devotion  to  be  despised  or  made 
light  of. 

It  is  clear  from  Dr.  Reeve's  genealogical 
lists  that  the  O'Friels  are  the  nearest  blood 
relations  of  Saint  Columba.  Other  Done 
gal  clans  are  more  or  less  distantly  related. 
It  was  a  priest  of  that  name  who  blessed 
"  Doon  Well"  in  the  early  part  of  the  last 


century,  and  the  last  Irish  Abbot  of  lona 
was  a  Derry  priest  named  Awley  O'Friel — 
a  lineal  descendant  of  Eoghan,  the  brother 
of  Saint  Columba. 

Who  has  not  heard  of  "  Tory  Island"  and 
its  wonderfully  Catholic  people  ?  Relics 
of  Columba  abound  in  its  sea-defended 
fields,  but  perhaps  the  object  most  likely 
to  attract  the  traveller's  attention  and  im 
print  itself  most  vividly  on  his  memory  Ls 
"  Saint  Columba's  Round  Tower,"  of 
which  we  append  an  illustration. 

It  was  to  Tory  Columba  bequeathed  the 
"  Great  Reliquary  Cross,"  which  Pope 
Gregory  sent  him,  and  in  the  island  was 
long  preserved  a  stone  chalice,  once 
used  by  the  Saint,  and  now  in 
possession  of  Father  McFadden,  P.P., 
Glena. 


THE    FINDING    OF    THE    CHILD   JESUS    IN    THE    TEMPLE. 
Fifth  Mystery  of  the  Rosary. 

'  *    "  4nd  it  came  to  pass,  that  after  three  days  they  round  Him  in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors 
heaiing-  them,  and  asking  them  questions." — Sr.  LITKE  ii.  46. 


FOUNDATION    OF    DERRY. 


WHO    can    describe    the    joy 
with    which    his    friends 
welcomed  Columba  home, 
or     the     devotion     with 
which  they  heard  his  first 
Mass  ?     They  gathered  round  him  to  re 
ceive    his    priestly    blessing,    and    were 
already   talking   of   where    his   monastic 
foundation  would  be.     It  was  taken  for 


mission.  His  friends  were  taken  aback. 
It  seemed  to  them  so  natural — in  fact, 
was  then  so  customary  in  Ireland — that  a 
noble  of  Columba's  lineage,  and  a  pro 
found  scholar  of  his  varied  attainments, 
should  open  a  school,  which,  in  practice, 
was  hardly  distinguishable  from  a  monas 
tery  in  old  Ireland.  Columba,  however, 
was  firm.  He  would  neither  found  him- 


DERRY   COLUMBKILLE 


granted  that  with  the  friends  who  had 
already  gathered  round  him — who,  in 
fact,  had  been  anxiously  waiting  his  ar 
rival,  to  form  themselves  into  a  religious 
community — he  would  establish  himself 
somewhere  among  the  "  grey  mountains 
of  dark  Donegal."  He  told  them  it  was 
not  to  be.  His  own  sense  of  the  fitness 
of  things,  dictated,  no  doubt,  by  humility, 
forbade  the  thought;  besides,  Mobhi  had 
distinctly  forbidden  him  to  form  any  com 
munity  until  he  had  first  received  his  per- 


self,  nor  join  in  founding,  until  he  had  re 
ceived  some  clear  indication  of  God's  will. 
Just  a  few  weeks  after  his  return  he  was 
one  day,  in  company  with  his  cousin 
Hugh,  mounting  the  slope  of  Aileach 
towards  the  Royal  Fortress,  that  still  in  its 
mutilation  "  smiles  upon  the  valleys  of 
green  Innishowen."  They  paused  to  sur 
vey  the  beautiful  landscape  that  stretched 
away  from  their  feet,  intersected  by  the 
broad  expanse  of  the  Swilly  to  their  left, 
and  of  the  Foyle  to  their  right. 


i6 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


As  they  looked,  their  eyes  turned 
towards  the  little  island  of  Derry  that  lay 
close  to  the  shore,  within  the  waters  of 
the  Foyle.  The  same  thought  occurred 
to  both.  "  What  a  pretty  spot  for  a  mon 
astic  school — so  secluded,  yet  so  con 
venient  ;  so  picturesque  and  so  advantage 
ously  situated  by  a  river  abounding  in  fish 
— the  staple  food  of  the  old  Irish  student." 

Ainmire,  Hugh's  father,  owned  it.  He 
pressed  it  as  a  gift  upon  Columba.  The 
latter  pleaded  again  the  command  of 


the  beautiful  that  he  would  neither  fell  a 
tree  nor  lop  a  branch,  even  to  make  way 
for  his  church.  There  was  a  clearing 
down  by  the  water's  edge,  where  the  Long 
Tower  Church  now  stands.  There  Col 
umba  gathered  his  monks  around  him, 
said  his  first  Mass  in  Derry,  and  estab 
lished  his  monastery.  He  then,  sayi 
O'Donnell,  told  them  he  was  too  young  to 
be  their  abbot,  and  they  must  choose  one 
from  amongst  themselves.  They  were  all  his 
own  kinsfolk  or  clansmen;  attracted  by 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  (LONG  TOWER)  CHURCH  AND  SCHOOLS- 
SITE   OF   MONASTERY. 


Mobhi.  The  talk  then  ended  for  the 
time,  but  that  very  night  came  a  message 
from  Mobhi's  death-bed,  giving  the  re 
quisite  permission  and  the  old  Saint's 
blessing.  Ainmire  renewed  his  offer,  and, 
a  few  weeks  after,  Columba  took  posses 
sion  of  the  island  since  so  closely  associ 
ated  with  his  name.  The  northern  half 
was  cumbered  by  a  hamlet,  whose  houses 
clustered  round  the  fort,  afterwards  known 
as  O'Donnell's  Castle,  and  at  present  as 
the  remains  of  the  magazine.  The  southern 
half,  which  Columba  chose  for  his 
church  and  school,  was  covered  by  a 
grove  of  oaks,  whose  grace  and  luxuriance 
appealed  so  strongly  to  Columba's  love  of 


his  strong  personality,  and  dominated  by 
his  superior  learning  and  sanctity,  they 
chose  himself,  in  spite  of  his  protests. 

The  first  Mass  was  said  under  the  oak 
leaf  shade,  but  soon  skilful  and  loving 
hands  reared  the  little  church  that  the 
"  Four  Masters"  endearingly  term  the 
Dubh-Regles  of  Derry,  and  which  they 
have  made  so  familiar  to  the  students  of 
their  solemn  pages. 

His  choice  of  a  site,  as  we  have  said, 
was  determined  by  an  open  space  within 
the  oak  grove  of  which  he  was  so  fond, 
and  a  tree,  nay  a  branch  of  which  he 
would  not  cut,  even  to  afford  suitable 
space  for  the  church.  Its  very  form  was 


Drawn  by] 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  RETURN  FROM  THE  CHURCH  TO  HIS  CELL. 

"Crowded  full  of  Heaven's  angels  is  every  leaf  of  the  oaks  of  Derry." 


SAINT    COLUMBA. 


(for  the  sake  of  preserving  the  trees  un 
touched)  altered  from  the  ordinary  Orien 
talized  style,  and  made  long  and  narrow, 
running  north  and  south  instead  of  east 
and  west,  the  altar,  however,  being  on  the 
eastern  side.  Though  often  burned  in 
times  of  war,  it  was  as  often  rebuilt,  on  the 
very  same  site,  and  in  the  very  same  style, 
stones,  however,  being  substituted  after  a 
time  for  timber.  Its  ruins  were  still  ex 
tant  in  1520,  when  O'Donnell  examined 


whose  lovely  angel-guards  he  used  so 
often  to  see  peering  from  behind  its  veil 
of  mystery — that  altar  lay  within  the  lines 
of  the  present  church. 

It  was  called  the  Dubh  Regies. 
"  Regies"  is  a  well-known  Irish  name  for 
an  abbey  or  convent  church,  "  Dubh" 
means  black.  The  epithet  "  black"  was 
applied  to  the  abbey  church — after  the 
erection  of  the  Templemore — perhaps,  be 
cause  of  its  dingy  and  charred  appearance 


INTERIOR    OF    SAINT    COLOMBA'S    CHURCH,    DERRY,  ON    FIRST    FRIDAY    OF    JDNE. 


them,  and  described  their  position,  re 
lative  to  the  Templemore,  whose  exact 
situation  we  learn  from  Neville's  map, 
made  in  1689,  ere  yet  its  traces  had  been 
obliterated. 

From  his  detailed  description  and  the 
nature  of  the  ground,  apart  altogether 
from  unmistakable  traditions,  one  may 
fairly  conclude  without  much  risk  of  error 
that  the  altar  on  which  Columba  offered 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass — the  altar 
before  which  he  loved  most  of  all  spots  in 
the  world  to  kneel  in  prayer — the  altar 


as  contrasted  with  the  new  cathedral  be 
side  it.  Or  it  may  have  been  that  Columba 
and  his  community  wore  a  black  cloak,  or 
habit,  in  which  case  they  would  probably 
be  called  "  The  Black  Monks,"  and  their 
church  and  monastery  would  be  "  The 
Black  Abbey,"  just  as  the  Dominican 
Church  in  Kilkenny  is  known  to  the  pre 
sent  day  as  "The  Black,  Abbey," 
the  Dominicans  themselves  being  called 
"  The  Black  Friars,"  on  account  of 
the  black  cloak  they  wear  over  their 
white  habit,  in  contradistinction  to  the 

c 


i8 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Carmelites,     who     are     called     "White 
Friars,"  because  of  their  white  cloak. 

In  Columba's  day  that  church  was 
small,  and  like  most  of  the  other  old  Irish 
churches,  built  of  wood.  "  That,  how 
ever,"  says  Moore,  "  these  edifices  were 
merely  of  wood  is  by  no  means 
conclusive  against  the  elegance  of 
their  structure,  or  the  civilization  of 
those  who  erected  them.  It  was  in  wood 
that  the  graceful  forms  of  Grecian  a-chi- 


the  illumination  of  God's  Book,  what 
must  he  not  have  expended  on  God's 
House — the  place  where  His  glory  dwelt 
— where  Mary's  Son,  the  Eternal  God,  the 
crucified  Lord,  lay  hidden  under  the  ap 
pearance  of  bread  ?  We  can  only  guess. 
Bright,  warm,  and  devotional,  however, 
must  have  been  the  old  church  Columba 
cherished  so  fondly,  and  visited  so  often. 
To  those  visits  of  love,  commenced  in 
childhood  and  ending  only  with  his  last 


BROW    OF     HILL,    DERRY. 


tecture  first  unfolded  their  beauty,  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  at  the  time 
when  Xerxes  invaded  Greece  most  of  her 
temples  were  still  of  this  perishable  ma 
terial." — (Vol.  i.,  page  195.) 

The  Book  of  Kells,  admirable  and  in 
imitable  in  its  artistic  finish,  even  to  this 
day,  has  been  attributed  to  our  saint. 
Now  the  fancy  which  conceived,  the  taste 
which  ordered,  and  the  hand  which  exe 
cuted  its  delicate  tracery  and  chaste 
colouring,  could  not  leave  the  Abbey 
Church  of  Deny  a  cold  or  graceless 
structure.  If  he,  as  Dove  of  the  Cell, 
devoted  so  much  time,  care,  and  taste  to 


breath  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  he  owes, 
as  we  have  already  explained,  the  name  by 
which  we  know  him — "  Columbcille — the 
Dove  of  the  Church," 

Attached  to  the  Dubh-Regles  was  a 
long  and  slender  belfry,  which  remained 
standing  till  the  Londoners  pulled  it  down 
in  the  course  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
to  build  or  repair  the  city  walls  with  its 
stones.  The  other  ecclesiastical  edifices 
of  Deny — the  Dominican  Priory,  the 
Franciscan  Abbey,  the  Augustinian  and 
Cistercian  convents,  shared  the  same  fate. 
Their  stones  were  all  embedded  in  the 
city  walls,  whence  still  the  red  sandstone 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


that  formed  their  cornices,  peeps  out  in 
many  an  angle.  All  those  churches  had 
towers  ;the  Dominican,  which  was  nearest, 
had  no  less  than  four  spires,  but  Col- 
umba's  was  the  highest — hence  its  name, 
Long  Tower,  which  still  clings  to  the 
spot,  though  every  stone  has  been 
removed.  In  1164  a  huge  cathedral 
or  Templemore,  was  erected  hard  by  the 
old  abbey  church.  The  Four  Masters 
proudly  dilate  on  its  size  and  beauty.  It 
was  built  by  Flathbert  O'Brolcain,  or 


lona,  resembled  that  majestic  pile  in  grace 
and  grandeur. 

The  Templemore  stood  where  Saint 
Columba's  schools  now  stand.  A  general 
view  of  the  ancient  site  as  at  present  oc 
cupied  is  given  elsewhere.  It  only  re 
mains  to  be  added  that  of  the  Templemcre 
there  is  nothing  now  extant  save  a  small 
slab,  which  was  over  the  entrance,  and 
bore  the  legend  :  "  In  templo  verus  Detis 
est,  vereque  clemens,"  "  The  true  God  is 
in  the  Church,  and  a  truly  merciful 


SAINT    COLUMBA.S    CHURCH,    WATERSIDE,    DERKY. 


Bradley,  the  first  Bishop  of  the  United 
See  of  Deny,  who,  in  addition  to  his  epis 
copal  office,  had  the  superintendence  of 
all  the  Columban  abbeys  in  Ireland,  as 
well  as  of  lona.  An  inscription  on 
one  of  the  columns  of  lona  Cathe 
dral  records  the  fact  that  it  was  another 
O'Brolcain,  a  kinsman  of  his,  and  a  former 
Prior  of  Deny,  who  erected  that  graceful 
pile.  From  various  sources  we  gather 
that  it  was  built  during  Flathbert's  sup 
remacy.  It  is  not,  therefore,  rash  to  as 
sume  that  the  Templemore  of  Deny,  built 
under  the  same  guidance  and  probably  by 
the  same  men,  as  was  the  Cathedral  of 


God  is  He."  This  slab  may,  how 
ever,  have  belonged  to  the  older 
abbey  church.  It  is  now  in  the  Pro 
testant  Cathedral.  Even  during  the 
fiercest  periods  of  the  penal  times  Mass 
continued  to  be  celebrated  at  intervals  on 
the  old  site.  A  shrubbery  gradually  over 
spread  the  graveyards,  where  Colgan  tells 
us  in  his  "  Trias  Thaumaturgas,"  many 
saints,  famous  in  their  day — some  of  them 
still  famed  in  their  country's  annals — and 
canonized  by  the  devotion  of  a  pious  and 
discerning  people,  as  were  all  the  saints  of 
old  Ireland,  lie  waiting  the  resurrection. 
Under  a  hawthorn  tree,  which  grew  near 


2O 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


the  spot  where  Our  Lord  appeared  to  Col 
umba,  Mass  was  regularly  celebrated  dur 
ing  the  latter  half  of  the  last  century,  until, 
in  1784,  the  present  old  church  was  built 
on  the  site,  as  nearly  as  could  be  made 
out,  of  Columba's  Abbey  Church,  and  in 
1786  was  dedicated.  Thus  for  nigh  thir 
teen  hundred  years  Mass  has  continued  to 
be  offered  on  or  near  the  place  where 


Give  not  full  power,  O  Father,  to  the  thunder 

and  lightning, 
Lest  we  be  overwhelmed  by  the  fearful  might 

and  blazing  fires. 


As  he  turned  to  leave  the  church  we 
can  well  fancy  his  eye  catching  the  scintil 
lation  of  the  sanctuary  lamp,  and  turning 
towards  the  tabernacle  with  the  beautiful 
aspiration  that  ended  the  hymn : 


INITIAL    LETTER,    "  BOOK    OF    KELLS. 
(Block  kindly  lent  bv  M  H.  Gill  &>  Son.) 


Columba  knelt  in  silent  adoration  of  the 
Eucharistic  Presence. 

We  have  seen  that  there  was  a  hamlet 
on  the  northern  side  of  the  island.  One 
day,  during  a  thunderstorm,  the  houses 
caught  fire.  People  instinctively  ran  to 
Columba — he  instinctively  sought  the 
church.  Before  the  altar  he  poured  forth 
his  petition,  and  the  destructive  flames 
were  quenched.  Columba's  prayer  was 
afterwards  put  into  Latin  verse,  and  was 
believed  to  shield  from  lightning. 


May  the  fire  of  God's  love  abide  in  my  heart. 
Like  the  golden  gem  within  yon  silver  lamp 

Love  for  the  Blessed    Sacrament    was 
with  him  an  absorbing  passion.     Next  to 
his  love  for  our  Lord's  presence,  he  loved 
the  church.     He  could  truly  say  each  day, 
•'  I  have  loved,  O  Lord,  the  beauty  of  Thy 
house,  and  the  place  where   Thy  glory 
dwelleth"  (Ps.  xxv.   8).     Of  all  the  300 
churches  said  to  have  been  founded  by 
him,  he  loved  none  so  much  as  the  old 
Abbey  Church  of  Derry. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


21 


Oftentimes  in  that  old  church  it  was 
his  happy  lot,  as  has  been  already  said,  to 
behold  the  bright  faces  of  the  angel  choirs, 
who,  unseen  by  human  eyes,  guard 
day  and  night  the  Eucharistic  presence  of 
the  King  on  His  altar  throne.  It  was  his 
privilege  to  hear  in  that  old  church  the 
sweet  music  of  their  voices,  and  to  kneel 


wonder  his  spirit  was  ever  fondly  revisiting 
the  scene  of  such  heavenly  intercourse. 
How  dearly  he  cherished  the  memories 
that  clustered  round  hisDerryChurch,  how 
he  loved  every  leaf  of  its  old  oak  grove, 
how  ardently  he  longed  to  revisit  the  spot, 
and  pray  cnce  more  beneath  the  shadow 
of  Derry  altar,  he  has  himself  told  us  in  a 


FATHER  JOHN  COLGAN,  C.S.F,,  AUTHOR  OF  THE  "  TRIAS  THAUMATURGA." 

(Born  in  1592,  near  Carndonagh,  Co.  Donegal,  and  died  at  Louvain,  January    isth,   1658.) 
From  a  Painting  in  Saint  Colnmba's  College,  Derry. 


in  their  visible  midst  adoring  the  Lord. 
What  wonder  he  loved  that  old  church ! 

He  has  left  it  on  record  for  us,  that 
often  as  he  slowly  wended  his  way  from 
the  church  to  his  cell  he  saw  "  the  white 
angels  oc  heaven"  nestling  amidst  the 
leaves  O'f  his  loved  cak  grove. 

What  a  picture  for  Fra  Angelico<  to  have 
painted !  No  wonder  Columba  felt  it  dif- 
cult  to  tear  himself  away  from  Derry.  No 


beautiful  little  poem  attributed  to  him,  a 
version  of  which  I  transcribe  from  Dr. 
Hyde's  ballads:  — 

And  oh !  were  the  tributes  of  Alba  mine, 
From  shore  unto  centre,  from  centre  to  sea, 

The  site  of  one  cell,  to  be  marked  by  a  line, 
In  the  midst  of  fair  Derry,  were  dearer  to_me. 

The  spot  is  the  dearest  on  Erin's  ground, 

For  the  treasures  that  peace  and  that  purity 
lend  ; 

For  the  hosts  of  bright  angels  that  circle  it  round, 
Protecting  its  boiders  from  end  to  end. 


22 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


That  spot  is  the  dearest  on  Erin  s  ground, 
For  its  peace  and  its  beauty  I  gave  it  my  love  ; 

Each  leaf  of  the  oaks  around  Derry  is  found 
To  be  crowded  with  angels  from  heaven  above. 

My  Derry,  my  Derry,  my  little  oak  grove, 

My   dwelling,  my   home,    and  my  own  little 
cell ; 

May  God  the  Eternal,  in  heaven  above, 
Send  woe  to  thy  foes  and  defend  thee  well. 


Ring  the  changes  on  these  verses  as  you 
please,  and  still  the  grand  central  fact 
stands  out,  that  the  most  illustrious  of  the 
Irish  saints,  were  the  choice  given  him, 
would  rather  have  a  little  cell  in  Deny 
than  the  broadest  and  lordliest  of  de 
mesnes  elsewhere  in  the  British  Isles. 


SAINT    COLUMBA    GAZING    ERINWARDS. 


Beloved  are  Durrow  and  Derry  to  me, 

And  Drumhome  of  the  fruits  of  the  rich  ripe 
hue 

Beloved  Raphoe  in  its  purity, 

And  Surd*  and  Cenannas,*  I  love  them  too. 

But  dear  to  my  heart  in  the  western  land, 

Is  the  thought  of  Loch  Foyle  where  the  cool 
waves  pour, 

And  the  Bay  of  Drumcliff  on  Culcinne's  strand, 
Delightful  the  form  of  its  sloping  shore. 

Delightful  it  is,  and  the  salt  salt  main,"5 

Where   the   sea-birds  scream   o'er  the  water 
blue, 

On  my  coming  from  Derry  afar  in  pain, 
How  quiet  it  is,  and  delightful  too. 

*  The  Irish  names  for  Swords  and  Kelk. 


Wherever  he  went  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  Scotland  his  thoughts,  untra- 
velled,  still  clung  to  his  monastery  by  the 
Foyle.  "  Death  in  Erin  is  better,"  he  mur 
mured,  "  than  perpetual  life  in  Albion." 
His  biographers  tell  us  that  oft  when 
wandering  by  the  lonely  shore  in  medita 
tive  mood,  or  climbing  the  mountain 
ranges  in  quest  of  souls  for  God,  he  would 
pause  and  turn  his  wistful  gaze  across  the 
misty  deep  to  where  Derry  lay  in  the  in 
visible  distance.  "  Oh  !  how  my  barque 
would  fly,"  he  cried,  "  if  its  prow  were 
turned  towards  my  oak-grove,  my  Daire." 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


The  oak  grove  of  which  he  was  so  fond 
overhung  the  Abbey  Church,  and 
stretched  round  the  Brow  of  the  Hill,  over 
the  Casino  grounds  and  Bishop's  Garden 
to  the  river  side.  At  first  the  cells  of  the 
monks  were  scattered  through  the  grove. 
Subsequently,  veneration  for  the  trees 
caused  the  cells  to  be  removed,  and 
monastic  buildings  to  be  erected  some 
where  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Long  Tower. 
No  trace  of  those  monastic  buildings  now 
remains,  unless  the  old  windmill,  so 


Towers  of  Ireland.  The  latter,  indeed, 
falls  into  the  curious  mistake  of  thinking 
it  "  The  Long  Tower." 

When  a  tree  fell  it  was  to  be  left  undis 
turbed  for  nine  days,  after  which  it  was  to 
be  distributed  amongst  the  people.  As  late 
as  the  year  1178  we  find  it  recorded  in  the 
Annals  that  "a  violent  storm  prostrated 
1 20  oaks  in  Derry-Columbkille."  The 
grove  must,  therefore,  have  been  still  very 
large  at  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century. 
What  happened  it  subsequently  we  know 


OLD    TOWER    AT    SAINT    COLUMBA'S    COLLEGE,    DERRY. 


famous  in  the  days  of  the  Great  Siege, 
when  it  was  already  termed  ancient,  may 
be  regarded  as  a  remnant  of  the  farmyard. 
Certainly  it  stood  within  the  monastic  pre 
cincts  ;  and  we  know,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
that  some  such  mill  always  formed  portion 
of  the  Columban  abbeys.  Beaufort  and 
Sampson,  however,  call  it  a  Tower,  and 
speak  of  it  as  one  of  the  ancient  Round 


not.  No  reference  is  made  to  it  in  the 
Ulster  "  Inquisition  of  the  Derrie."  It 
has  wholly  passed  away.  Not  a  chip  re 
mains.  The  name  of  Derry  (Daire,  the 
oak  grove)  enshrines  and  perpetuates  its 
memory.  As  long,  therefore,  as  the  city 
retains  her  present  name,  her  citizens  are 
in  no  danger  of  forgetting  the  old  oak 
grove  so  dear  to  Columbkille. 


PERSONAL    APPEARANCE. 


BEFORE    we   follow    him  to    his 
monastic  foundations  in  Ire 
land,    or    on    his    missionary 
journeys  through  Scotland,  it 
may  be  well  to  see  what  man 
ner  of  man  he  was  personally.     Venerable 
Bede     and     the     ancient     Irish     manu 
scripts    leave    no    room    for    conjecture 
regarding   his  physical   appearance.     He 
was     tall     and     muscular,     angelic     of 
face,    somewhat   reddish   haired,    with   a 
loud   resonant   voice  that   could    on   oc 
casions  be  heard  very  far  off  and  was 
withal  musical  as  an  angel's.     Naturally 
hot    and    fiery   in    his    temperament,   he 
so  completely    overcame   himself   by   his 
fastings,  prayers,  and  vigils  as  to  success 
fully  verify  his  baptismal  name  of  "  The 
Dove."     Restless  and  studious  by  turns, 


he  was  at  once  the  deepest  student  and 
the  most  extensive  publisher  of  the 
Sacred  Text,  the  most  energetic  mis 
sionary  and  enlightened  statesman  of  his 
day. 

Adamnan  says  "  he  never  could  spend 
even  the  space  of  one  hour  without  study 
or  prayer,  or  writing,  or  some  other  holy 
or  useful  occupation.  So  incessantly  was 
he  engaged,  night  and  day,  in  the  un 
wearied  exercise  of  fasting  and  watching, 
that  the  burden  of  each  of  these  austeri 
ties  would  seem  beyond  the  power  of  all 
human  endurance,  and  still  in  all  these  he 
was  beloved  by  the  brethren,  for  a  holy 
joyousness  ever  beaming  on  his  counte 
nance  revealed  the  joy  and  gladness  with 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  filled  his  inmost 
soul." 


[     25 


ADVOCATE    OF   TEMPERANCE. 


A' 


VERY  old  manuscript  quoted 
in  the  Book  of  Lismore,  says 
of  him :  "  And  he  used  not  to 
drink  ale,  or  eat  condiment; 
two  hundred  genuflexions  he 
used  to  make  every  day,  and,  as 


abstinence  society  of  men  in  Ireland, 
nearly  4,000,  and  have  called  by  his  name 
the  finest  and  largest  Catholic  Hall  in  the 
United  Kingdom.  It  was  originated  by 
Father  Elliot,  whose  name  must  ever  re 
main  in  benediction  in  Derry.  He  died 


SAINT    COLUMBA  S    HALL,    DERRY. 


Dalian  said,  he  kept  vigil  while  he 
lived,  and  had  no  love  of  wealth." 
It  is  fitting  that  such  an  ardent  ad 
vocate  of  total  abstinence  should  have 


before  the  foundation-stone  was  laid,  but 
his  successor,  Father  McMenamin,  carried 
on  the  work  to  a  glorious  termination.  It 
is  a  splendid  monument  to  Saint  Col- 


under    his    patronage    the    largest    total       umba's  love  of  temperance. 


HOLY    HOUR. 


THE  same  manuscript  is  also  re 
sponsible  for  the  following 
statement :  "Columbkille  used, 
moreover,  to  go  to  heaven 
every  Thursday  while  he  was 
alive."* 

Translated  into  our  every-day  language 
this  quaint  extract  means  simply  that  on 
Thursdays  Columba  was  more  than 
usually  fervent  in  his  visits  to  the  Blessed 


devotion  to  the  Passion  is  so  well  known, 
and  so  visibly  authenticated  by  the  beau 
tiful  remains  of  his  Passion-crosses — 
should  on  Thursdays  have  had  most  vivid 
remembrance  of  the  Supper-room  and  of 
Gethsemane,  and  have  gone  to  spend,  not 
"  one"  but  many  hours  with  His  Divine 
Master,  and  that  He  who  yearned  so 
ardently  for  human  sympathy  in  the  Gar 
den  should  reward  the  vigils  of  His  de- 


Sacrament,  and  on  that  day  particularly 
God  allowed  him  to  see  those  angel-guards 
who  surround  the  Tabernacle — a  glimpse 
of  whom  in  the  Eucharistic  Presence  was 
a  very  glimpse  of  heaven  itself. 

The  Tabernacle  is  the  point  where 
heaven  touches  earth — where  only  a  thin 
veil  hangs  between  the  two  worlds.  What 
more  natural  than  that  Columba,  whose 


voted  servant  and  apostle  by  a  glimpse  of 
Thabor  oft-repeated,  or  oft-remembered 
as  if  just  witnessed  again.  No  need  then, 
one  would  think,  to  seek  any  other  ex 
ample  for  the  devotion  of  the  "  Holy 
Hour"  on  Thursday  evenings,  or  engage 
any  other  patron  to  fan  that  beautiful 
practice  than  Columba,  the  Dove  of  the 
Church. 


"  Book  of  Lismore,"  pages  315,  316 


SAINT   COLUMBA'S   STONE. 


PEOPLE    in    Derry  tell  a  pretty 
legend    regarding     the     long 
hours  Columba  used  to  kneel 
before  the  altar.     "  He  came 
M  often  and  remained  so  long 
that     his     knees    actually     wore     huge 
dents     into     the     flagstone     on     which 


a  Holy  Water  Font,  to  prevent  further 
mutilation.  It  lay  for  many  centuries  em 
bedded  vertically  in  the  middle  of  the 
roadway  near  Saint  Columba's  Well.  No 
attempt  had  ever  been  made  by  the  muni 
cipal  authorities  to  remove  it,  because  of 
the  singular  veneration  with  which  the 


UNVEILING    OF    THE    CALVARY    AT    SAINT    COLUMBA'S,    DERRY. 


he  knelt."  That  stone  is  still  pre 
served  ;  its  authenticity  attested  by  tra 
dition,  venerated  from  time  imme 
morial,  and  doubly  hallowed,  first,  by  the 
name  it  bears,  Columba's;  and,  secondly, 
by  the  sacred  associations  of  ages,  which 
cluster  round  it.  In  reality,  the  holes,  of 
which  there  are  two  on  either  side,  were 
worn  by  pious  pilgrims  trying  to  remove 
chips  as  relics.  The  same  has  happened 
to  many  similar  ''  holy  stones"  on  which 
great  saints  are  said  to  have  knelt.  In 
later  times,  when  deep  basins  had  been 
hollowed  out  in  its  face,  it  was  utilized  as 


people  regarded  it.  Dr.  Barnard,  the  Pro 
testant  Bishop,  had  it  indeed  removed  on 
one  occasion  to  the  new  chapel  of  Saint 
Augustine,  which  he  had  erected.  In  a 
very  few  days,  however,  he  was  very  will 
ing  to  connive  at  its  restoration  by  night  to 
its  former  site  in  the  Wells. 

It  was,  however,  not  only  a  manifest  ob 
struction  to  the  thoroughfare,  but  so 
clearly  out  of  its  proper  place,  that  on  the 
occasion  of  the  i^th  centenary  of  Saint 
Columba's  death  it  was  resolved  to  remove 
it  to  a  more  suitable  environment.  Ac 
cordingly  at  the  close  of  the  Eucharistic 


28 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


devotions,  on  the  9th  of  June,  1897,  it 
was  carefully  lifted  by  loving  hands  and 
earned  to  its  old-time  resting-place,  the 
Long  Tower  Church,  The  beautiful 
Calvary  group,  of  which  our  pages  afford 
an  illustration,  was  then  designed  and  put 


charistic  fervour  of  Columba,  eager  to  put 
into  practice  the  lessons  his  statue  seemed 
to  preach  from  the  "  stone"  as  a  text,  with 
the  Calvary  group  as  an  illustration. 

The  following  "  Souvenir,"  distributed 
that  day,  conveys  the  idea  uppermost  in 


SAINT    COLUMBA  S    STONE. 


in  hands.  A  nine  months'  novena  of 
Eucharistic  devotions  was  commenced. 
Over  6,000  people  participated  in  it  dur 
ing  the  whole  period,  until  at  length,  on 
the  9th  of  June,  1898,  the  stone  was  en 
shrined,  and  the  Calvary  group  solemnly 
unveiled  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  O'Doherty, 
Lord  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  The  city 
was  en  fete  all  day  long.  Very  pretty 
artistic  arches,  with  appropriate  devotional 
mottoes,  spanned  the  thoroughfares  lead 
ing  to  the  church.  Over  8,000  persons  re 
ceived  Holy  Communion  that  morning  in 
the  old  Long  Tower.  The  scene  was  one 
never  to  be  forgotten,  especially  when  the 
children  came  to  pay  their  homage  to  the 
"  Dove  of  the  Tabernacle"  on  the  very 
ground  where  Columba  had  knelt  and 
prayed  so  often.  All  day  long  thousands 
of  people  continued  to  visit  the  Altar  of 
Exposition,  anxious  to  imitate  the  Eu- 


the  minds  of  those  responsible  for  the  en- 
shrinement. 

Saint  Golumba's  Stone. 

mO  matter  what  may  have  been  the  actual  connection 
of  this  stone  with  St.  Columba — whether  it  was  the 
pillow  stone  of  which  the  Trias  Thaumaturgas  speak  or 
the  flag  stone  on  which,  tradition  says,  he  knelt  in  the 
Church — it  has  been,  from  time  immemorial,  associated 
with  his  name  ;  and  that  very  association  has  hallowed  it 
and  made  it  a  relic  of  Derry's  great  saint  and  patron.  We 
venerate  it  because  it  bears  his  name,  and  was  dear  to  our 
fathers.  We  enshrine  it  in  this  Calvary,  to  perpetuate  the 
lessons  of  prayer  and  penance  Columba  taught  in  his  day. 
He  "  willed  his  soul  to  Derry."  His  spirit  still  hovers 
over  our  town.  Were  he  to  speak  from  this  stone  as  a 
text,  he  would  say,  pointing-  to  the  Altar  or  the  Calvary: 

Remember  that  the  real  Memorial  of  Calvary 
is  the  Eucharist.  Be  often  at  Mass  and  Com 
munion. 

Remember  the  agonized  cry  from  the  Cross, 
"  I  Thirst,''  and  be  temperate. 

Remember  the  sorrows   of  Mary,  and   spar 
her  Son  the  pain  of  sin. 

Remember  the  penitence  of  Magdalen  and  the 
purity  of  John.  Imitate  the  love  of  both. 

Remember  the  souls  in  Purgatory,  and  go 
round  the  Way  of  the  Cross  for  them. 

Remember,  above  all,  that  He  who  died  on 
Calvary  now  lives  on  the  Altar.  Visit  Him  often. 


[     29 


RELIC   OF   THE   TRUE    CROSS. 


THANKS  to  the  pious  generosity 
of  Father  White,  the  esteemed 
Procurator  of  the  Cistercian 
Monks  in  the  Eternal  City,  a  still 
more  precious  relic,  a  piece  of 
the  True  Cross  itself,  was  that  same  day 


permit  How  well  they  discharged  their 
task — especially  in  the  delicate  and  intri 
cate  traceries  and!  interfacings,  the  an 
nexed  cut  shows.  On  the  reverse  of  the 
cross  are  engraved  the  figures  of  Saint 
Columba  on  the  upper  shaft,  the  Sacred 


RELIQUARY    OF.  THE    CROSS. 


carried  in  procession  to  the  Calvary.  It 
had  been  given  himself  by  the  late  saintly 
Pius  IX.,  during  the  troubled  times  before 
1870,  and  was  by  him  made  over  to  Saint 
Columba's  Church.  Messrs.  Smyth,  of 
Dublin,  were  asked  to  make  a  facsimile  of 
the  "  Cross  of  Cong"  in  silver,  and  stud  it 
with  the  richest  stones  that  taste  would 


Heart  and  the  Immaculate  Heart  on  the 
arms,  while  down  the  stem  runs  the  fol 
lowing  appropriate  inscription : 

"  To  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  present  on  the 
Altar  of  St.  Columba's  Long  Tower  Church, 
Derry,  this  Cross  is  presented  by  the  promoters 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  Sodality,  1898,  to  enshrine 
the  relic  (contained  herein)  of  the  True  Cross 
which  Christ  bore  to  Calvary." 


SAINT   COLUMBA'S    USE    OF   SACRAMENTALS. 


s 


AINT  COLUMBA'S  genuflec 
tions  were  equalled  by  his  fre 
quent  "  Crossings"  not  only  of 
himself,  but  of  everything  with 
which  he  had  to  do.  "  The 

if    the    Cross,"    says    Dr.    Reeves, 


sidered  effectual  to  banish  demons,  to  re 
strain  a  river-monster,  to  prostrate  wild 
cattle,  to  unlock  a  door,  to  endow  a  pebble 
with  healing  virtues.  Hence  the  readi 
ness  to  erect  the  substantial  '  Standard  of 
the  Cross'  on  the  site  of  any  remarkable 


SAINT  MARTIN'S  CROSS. 


the  Protestant  editor  of  Adamnan,  "was 
very  generally  employed  in  lona.  Hence 
it  was  customary  before  milking  to  cross 
the  pail ;  before  tools  were  used  to  bless 
them.  The  sign  of  the  Cross  was  con- 


occurrence;  a  tendency  which  got  full 
credit  for  its  development  when  lona  was 
'  celebrated  for  its  360  crosses.' "  In  the 
same  context  the  learned  editor  notes  the 
frequent,  almost  hourly  use,  of  such  sacra- 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


mentals   as   "Blessed)   Bread,"    "Blessed 
Salt,"  and  "  Holy  Water." 

Among  the  commonest  of  the  "  blessed 
objects"  to  be  met  with  in  the  days  of 
Saint  Columba  were  "blessed  pebbles," 
or  tiny  stones  over  which  the  Saint  had 
made  the  "  Sign  of  the  Cross ;"  as,  for  in 
stance,  the  one  blessed  on  the  shore  of 
Lough  Ness,  which  he  forwarded  to 
Broichan  the  Druid.  "  Blessed  pebbles" 
were,  in  fact,  to  Columba  what  "  medals" 
have  been  to  other  saints.  Hence  it  is  to 
be  presumed,  happens  the  frequency  with 
which  to-day  we  meet  with  huge  stones  as 
sociated  in  some  way  or  other  with  the 
name  or  person  of  the  Saint,  and  vene 
rated  because  of  that  association.  Relics 
of  the  saints  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes  (i)  personal — that  is,  portions  of 


their  bodies,  such  as  bone-dust,  etc.  ^(2), 
things  hallowed  by  their  use,  contact,  or 
association.  In  the  latter  class  we  may 
rank  the  Columban  stones,  Gospels, 
croziers,  chalices,  etc.,  whose  -authenticity 
depends  more  on  the  association  with  the 
saint  in  the  people's  mind  than  on  any 
formal  proof  of  connection  with  him. 

There  is  nothing  in  all  this,  when 
rightly  understood  by  the  people,  repug 
nant  to  the  Church's  use  of  "  blessed  ob 
jects,"  or  her  "  veneration  of  relics ; "  and 
nothing  whatever  in  her  use  of  such  sacra- 
mentals  or  toleration  of  such  honours  as 
has  not  many  a  Scriptural  parallel  from 
Eliseus  and  Naaman  to  the  blind  man 
washing  off  the  clay  and  soittle  in  the 
Pool  of  Siloam,  or  the  people  touching 
handkerchiefs  on  the  cloak  of  Saint  Paul. 


APPARITION   OF   OUR    LORD   TO   SAINT   COLUMBA    IN 

DERRY. 


THAT  Columba's  love  for  the 
poor  was  unbounded  might  be 
exemplified  by  a  thousand  in 
stances.  Apropos  of  his  a 
story  is  told  of  him  while  yet 
in  Derry,  that  reveals  once  more  his  inti 
mate  union  with  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
His  friends  had,  during  a  period  of  dis 
tress,  placed  a  quantity  of  provisions  at  hi^ 
disposal.  He  made  it  a  rule  that  at  a  cer 
tain  hour  each  day  one  hundred  poo- 
people  should  be  relieved  at  the  monas 
tery  gates.  One  day  a  poor  man  came  too 
late.  He  went  away  unhelped,  but  un 
complaining.  A  second  day  he  came,  and 
the  same  thing  happened.  On  the 
third  day  he  bade  the  almoner  tell 
the  Abbot  that  what  God  gave  for 
the  use  of  His  poor  should  be  dis 
tributed  according  to  need  and  not  by 
rule.  Columba  was  writing  in  his  cell; 


bareheaded  and  barefooted  he  rushed 
forth  after  the  retreating  mendicant  and 
overtook  him  at  the  western  door  of  the 
Abbey  Church,  in.  the  spot  they  cal'  "  lo- 
mopodh — desiol."  There  he  learned  that 
his  mendicant  was  no  other  than  Our  Lord 
Himself,  who  had  come  to  give  an  object 
lesson  of  His  saying  that  what  is  done 
for  the  least  of  His  brethren  is  done  to 
Himself."  "  Columba  fell  on  his  knees, 
but  Our  Lord  bade  him  rise.  Long,"  adds 
O'Donnell,  from  whom  I  quote,  ''  rie 
and  Columba  talked  of  charity  in  all  its 
phases  and  aspects  by  the  church  door. 
They  then  moved  inside  and  in  the  gloom 
that  shrouded  the  sanctuary,  Our  Lord 
disappeared,"  and  Columba  felt  grateful 
to  his  patron,  Saint  Martin,  for  having  ob 
tained  for  him  from  Christ  the  same  fa 
vour  that  had  been  shown  himself  in  the 
camp  of  Amiens. 


SAINT    BRENDAN'S    VISIT. 


AS  an  illustration   of  the  charity 
and   plenty   that   thenceforth 
prevailed    in    the   monastery, 
O'Donnell  cites  two  examples. 
When    Saint    Brendan    gave, 
with  a  crowd  of  nearly  200  guests,  there 
was  but  little  food  to  be  found.       God, 
however,  so  multiplied  and  increased  that 
little  that  all  had  abundance  of  the  best 
quality,  and  the  visit  and  its  miraculous 
accompaniment  was  long  after  spoken  of 
with  awe  and  wonder.     On  another  occa 


sion  a  beggar  and  a  spendthrift  came  at 
the  same  moment  to  ask  help.  Both 
pleaded  extreme  want.  Columba  gave 
several  coins  to  the  gambler,  but  only  one 
to  the  beggar.  "  Why  did  you  act  thus," 
his  monks  asked  him,  "  Go,"  he  said, 
"  and  see  what  the  two  are  doing  now." 
They  found  the  spendthrift  actually  shar 
ing  his  alms  with  other  poor  people,  but 
the  beggar  they  discovered  dead,  and 
wrapped  in  his  clothing  a  quantity  of  gold 
coins. 


JJravon  by] 


ORIGIN    OF    SAINT    COLUMBA'S    WELL,    DERRY. 


[D.  Conroy. 


Every  "  Holy  Well"  should  repeat  the  lesson  taught  by  Our  Lady  at  Lourdes  to  the  little  Bernadette  ; — "  Penance — 
Prayer  for  the  conversion  of  sinners    Processions  in  honour  of  Mary  Immaculate,  and  Rosaries  without  number." 


SAINT    COLL  MBA    ON    DEVOTION    TO    THE    BLESSED    VIRGIN. 


[     33     1 


SAINT   COLUMBA'S   COLLEGE,    DERRY. 


WE  cannot  think  of  concluding 
this  section  on   Saint  Col- 
umba's  life  in  Deny  withr 
out  a  view  of  the  College 
which,    hearing   his   name, 
stands  where  his  oak  grove  flourished,  and 
tested  by  Intermediate  records,  is  rot  un- 


passed,  to  the  Corporation  of  London,  in 
trust  for  the  people.  A  .committee  of  that 
Corporation,  known  as  the  Irish  Society, 
still  administers  the  trust,  and  a  few  years 
ago,  they,  owing  chiefly  to  the  representa 
tions  of  the  city  member,  Mr.  Kncoc,  and 
in  deference  to  the  public  opinion  created 


ST.  COLUMBA'S  COLLEGE.  DKRRY. 


worthy    the    patronage  of    even  such    a 
scholar  as  Columba  was. 

Amongst  the  strange  vicissitudes  of 
which  Deny  has  been  the  scene,  there  is 
none  more  wonderful  than  that,  out  of  the 
very  funds  which  once  belonged  to 
the  Columban  Abbey,  Saint  Columba's 
College  should  be  permanently  en 
dowed  to  the  extent  of  ^600  a  year.  At 
the  Plantation  of  Ulster,  in  1608,  the  Col 
umban  Abbeys  of  Deny  and  Coleraine 


on  the  subject  by  the  editor  of  the  "Deny 
Journal,"  granted  the  above  annual  sum 
out  of  their  revenues  and  secured 
its  perpetuity  by  a  bond  for  ,£20,000. 
Thus  once  more  Saint  Columba 
has  proved  his  unceasing  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  Derry,  and  particu 
larly  of  her  schools,  for,  as  Dr. 
O'Donnell  once  preached,  "  In  addition  to 
all  else,  Columba  is  also  the  patron  of 
schools." 


.  .   .  Now  once  more 

On  Columb's  Termon  land, 
We  see,  as  in  the  days  of  yore, 

A  Church  and  College  stand ; 
The  Mass  is  sung,  the  sweet  bell  calls 

Morn,  noon,  and  night  to  pray, 
And  students  study  in  their  Halls, 

E'en  as  in  Columb's  day. 


SAINT    COLUMBA'S    RULE. 


SAINT  COLUMBA,  like  the 
other  great  founders  of  reli 
gious  orders,  composed  and 
wrote  a  Rule  for  the  guidance 
of  his  monks.  Though  fre 
quent  reference  is  marie  to  it  in  the 


ing  the  spirit  of  the  Columban  communi 
ties  : 


Yield  submission  to  every  rule  that  is  devotion. 
A  mind  prepared  for  red  martyrdom,  that  is 
death  for  the  faith. 

A    mind    fortified    and    steadfast   for    white 


IONA    IN    SAINT    COLUMBA  S    DAY. 


old  lives,  no  full  copy  is  now  ex 
tant.  A  fragment  is  preserved  in 
the  Burgundian  Library,  Brussels,  which 
Dr.  Reeves  has  copied,  as  an  appendix, 
int©  has  "  Colton's  Visitation  of  the  Dio 
cese  of  Derry,"  from  which  we  may 
quote  the  following  passages,  as  illustrat- 


martyrdom,  that  is  the  trials  and  mortifications 
and  crosses  of  earthly  life. 

Forgiveness  from  the  heart  to  everyone. 

Constant  prayers  for  those  who  trouble  thee. 

Fervour  in  singing  the  Office  of  the  Dead,  as 
if  every  faithful  soul  departed  was  a  particular 
friend  of  thine. 

Litanies  to  be  sung  standing. 

Let  thy  vigils  be  constant  from  eve  to  eve 
under  the  direction  of  another  person. 


XAINT  COLUMBA. 


35 


Three  labours  in  the  oay,  viz  : — prayers,  work, 
.and  readings. 

The  work  to  be  divided  into  three  parts,  viz. — 
•thine  own  work,  and  the  work  of  thy  place,  as 
regards  its  real  wants  ;  secondly,  thy  share  of 
the  brethren's  '(work) ;  lastly,  to  help  thy 
neighbours,  viz.: — by  instruction,  or  sewing  gar 
ments,  or  whatever  labour  they  may  be  in  want 
•of:  ut  Dominus  ait,  "  Non  Apparebis  ante  me 
vacuus."  So  that  as  the  Lord  saith,  "  You  may 
not  come  empty-handed  before  Me." 

Everything  in  its  proper  order ;  Nemo  enim 
coronabitur  nisi  qui  legitime  certaverit.  No 
•  one  shall  be  crowned  but  he  who  has  fought 
fairly  and  faithfully. 

Follow  almsgiving  before  all  things. 

Take  not  of  food  till  thou  art  hungry. 

Sleep  not  till  thou  feelest  desire. 

Speak  not  except  on  business. 

Every  increase  which  comes  to  thee  in  lawful 
victuals,  or  in  wearing  apparel,  give  it  for  pity 
to  the  brethren  that  want  it,  or  to  the  poor  in 
like  manner. 

Love  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  all  thy 
strength. 

And  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 

Dr.  Reeves  (page  348)  tells  us  that 
every  Wednesday  and  Friday  throughout 
the  year — except  from  Easter  to  Pente 
cost — were  observed  as  strict  fasts.  Dur 
ing  Lent  no  food  was  taken  until  evening, 
except  on  Sundays. 

"  Their  ordinary  refection,"  he  says  at 
.page  355,  "was  very  simple,  consisting  of 
bread,  which  was  sometimes  made  from 
barley;  milk,  fish,  eggs,  and  probably 
seal's  flesh.  On  Sundays  and  festivals, 
and  on  the  arrival  of  guests,  there  was  an 
improvement  in  the  diet;  and  it  is  pro 
bable  that  on  such  occasions  flesh  meat, 
or  at  least  mutton,  was  used." 

"Their  ordinary  garments  were  two.  The 
cuculla  or  mantle,  of  coarse  texture  and 
woven  of  undyed  wool,  consisted  of  two 
parts,  the  body  and  the  hood,  which  could 
be  drawn  over  the  head;  and  an  under- 
.garment  or  tunic,  occasionally,  if  not 
always,  white,  and  sometimes  of  light, 
sometimes  of  heavier  material,  according 
to  the  weather.  The  monks  also  wore 
'  sandals,'  which  it  was  customary  to  re 
move  before  sitting  down  to  eat.  They 
had  '  lectuli,'  or  beds,  each  provided  with 
a  '  stramen,'  or  pallet,  of  straw.  Adam- 
nan,  however,  distinctly  states  that  Col- 
.umba's  pillow  was  a  bare  stone." 


Colgan  quotes  an  old  life,  to  show  that 
such  a  pillow-stone  was,  centuries  after 
the  Sainf  s  death,  preserved  with  venera 
tion  in  Deny,  and  visitors  to  lona  are 
familiar  with  the  "  pillow-stone"  which  the 
Duke  of  Argyle  has  had  encased  in  the 
eastern  end  of  the  nave. 


THE    FLIGHT    INTO    EGYPT. 

The  cells  of  the  monks,  which  were 
clustered  round  the  church,  or  scattered 
amongst  the  trees  within  the  enclosure,  or 
earthen  rampart,  were,  says  Montelam- 
bert,  of  the  simplest  kind. 

"  As  in  all  Celtic  constructions,  walls  of 
withes,  or  branches,  supported  upon  long 
wooden  props,  formed  the  principal  ele 
ment  in  their  architecture.  Climbing 
plants,  especially  ivy,  interlacing  them 
selves  in  the  interstices  of  the  branches  at 
once  ornamented  and  consolidated  the 
modest  shelter  of  the  missionaries." 


STATIONS    OF    THE    CROSS. 


FROM  the  fragment  of  the  -<ule 
which  we  have  quoted,  it  will 
be  seen  what  a  prominent 
place  prayer  for  the  souls  in 
Purgatory  occupied  in  the  ob 
servance  of  the  monastery.  Mass  could 


ment,  and  a  sign  of  his  confidence  in  the 
efficacy  of  the  Mass. 

He  studded  lona  with  crosses,  that  his- 
monks  might  ever  remember  the  Passion 
and  meditate  on  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
What  was  that  but  what  the  Church  has- 


SAINT    COLDMBA  S    CROSS,    KELLS. 


at  that  time,  be  said  oftener  than 
once  in  the  day,  and  we  find  on 
turning  over  the  pages  of  Adam- 
nan  that  as  soon  as  Columba  heard  of 
the  death  of  anyone  for  whom  he  was 
specially  bound  to  pray  he  had  Mass 
celebrated  at  once,  which  is  another  proof 
of  his  great  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacra^ 


done  in  lining  the  walls  of  our  churches 
with  fourteen  wooden  crosses,  commemo 
rative  of  the  way  to  Calvary  ? 

She  has  attached  to  them  all  the  indul 
gences  we  could  gain  for  the  dead  by  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land.  She  asks 
us  to  do  no  more  than  meditate  as  we 
move  round  the  fourteen  stations,  on  the 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


37 


•sufferings  of  Our  Lord.  Just  what  Col 
umba  bade  his  monks  do  in  the  fields  of 
'lona.  Looking  at  the  broken  crosses  in 
lona  to-day  one  cannot  help  feeling  that 


were  Columba  back  once  more  there  is 
no  devotion  he  would  be  more  earnest 
in  propagating  than  the  Way  of  the 
Cross. 


HOLY    WELLS. 


HOLY    WELLS    are    very    nu 
merous    in    Ireland.     Accord 
ing  to  their   origin  they  may 
be        divided        into        three 
classes:    (i)    those  that,   hav 
ing  been  venerated  in  pagan  times,  were 
blessed  by  saints,  or  that,  being  dangerous 
to    health,    were,    by    a    saint's    prayer 
to     God,     turned    into    "  sweet   waters," 
as   was   done    for   Moses    at   Mara,    and 
Eliseus  at  Jericho  ;(2)  those  that  adjoined 
churches  or  hermits'  cells,  and  were  used 
for  the  ministrations  of  the  altar,  etc.,  and 
so  were  esteemed  ''  holy"  after  the  fashion 
of  Siloam ;   (3)  those  that  were  used  for 
baptismal  purposes  on  extraordinary  oc 
casions,    and    that,     having    once    been 
blessed  by  a  saint,  were  deemed  to  retain 
that  blessing  still  through  the  same  saint's 
intercession  in  heaven.     Water  has  always 
been  regarded    as  a  type   of  purity.       A 
Tavish  use  of  it  was  enjoined  on  the  priests 
of   the   Old   Law.     The   "brazen   laver" 
stood  by  the  Temple  porch,  to  betoken 
how  clean  of  heart  those  should  be  who 
would  enter  even  the  shadowy  presence  of 
the  Lord.   The  font  stands  by  our  church 
doors  to  remind  us  how  much  more  pure 
and  clean  we  ought  to  be  entering  the 
Real  Presence.       What  the  laver   was  to 
the  Jewish  Church,  what  the  "Holy  Water 
Font"  is  to  us,  that  the  "  Holy  Well"  was 
to  the  Irish  saints  in  the  days  of  old,  and 


continued  *.o  be  during  the  long  ages  of 
persecution.  Their  use  may  have  passed 
away ;  but,  at  least,  as  relics  of  the  lively 
faith  that  earned  for  our  land  the  glorious 
titles  "  Island  of  Saints''  and  "  Coliseum 
of  Europe"  they  are  entitled  to  deepest 
respect.  With  so  much  by  way  of  pre 
face,  we  cull  from  the  Book  of  Lismore 
the  paragraph  numbered  900. 

"  Once  in  Derry  a  little  child  was 
brought  to  him  (Columba)  to  be  baptized. 
There  was  no  water  near  him,  so  he  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  over  the  rock  that 
lay  before  him,  and  a  well-spring  of 
water  brake  therefrom,  and  therewith  the 
child  was  baptized." 

Thus  originated  Saint  Columba's  Well 
in  Derry.  It  still  exists.  But  the  two  others, 
a  few  hundred  feet  on  either  side,  that 
were,  in  after  years,  associated  with  it — 
Saint  Martin's  beside  his  shrine,  and  Saint 
Adamnan's,  which  was  probably  blessed 
by  that  great  saint  when  he  was  Abbot  of 
Derry-Columbkille,  have  disappeared. 

Attached  to  every  one  of  the  Columban 
Abbeys  one  of  these  wells  is  to  be  found. 
If  nothing  else,  do  they  not  at  least  be 
token  the  springs  of  affection  which 
gushed  from  Columba's  heart  towards  the 
Altar  Throne  wherever  he  knelt — streams 
of  piety  and  Eucharistic  devotion,  with 
wh'ich  his  work  and  example  inundated  the 
land  wherever  he  went. 


STRER.T    DECORATIONS    AT    SAINT    COLUMBA's    Wh.LL    AND    STONE,    JUNE    9,    1897. 


39 


'COLUMBA'S    LOVE    OF    RELICS. 


D 


R.  REEVES  tells  us  that  on 
solemn  occasions  relics  used 
to  be  exposed  on  the  altar  of 
Saint  Oran's  chapel  in  lona. 


his  quest  for  relics  recorded  in  the  Book 
of  Lismore.  "  Once,  as  he  was  in  Derry, 
he  bethought  him  of  going  to  Rome  and 
to  Jerusalem.  He  went  at  another  time 


Columba  had,  indeed,  a  deep       afterwards  to  Tours,  and  brought  away  the 
veneration     for     the     relics     of     other       Gospel  that  had  lain  on  Martin's  breast  for 


MARKET  CROSS,  KELLS. 


saints,  and  we  are  told  the  last  weeks 
of  his  life  were  cheered  to  a  mar 
vellous  extent  by  a  gift  of  relics  from 
his  admirer  and  friend,  Pope  Gregory  the 
Great, 

There  is  nothing  that  one  can  see  in 
consistent  with  his  history  in  the  facts  of 


a   hundred   years,   and   he   leaves   it   in 
Derry." 

Cardinal  Moran  found  a  corresponding 
tradition,  still  clinging  to  Saint  Peter's  in 
Rome,  of  his  visit  there,  and  there  seems 
nothing  improbable  in  such  journeys  for 
a  man  so  accustomed  to  travelling  as 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Columba.  It  was  not  he,  however,  who 
brought  Martin's  Gospel  (that  is,  a  copy  of 
the  Gospels  transcribed  by  Saint  Martin) 
to  Ireland,  but  Martin's  own  kinsman, 
Saint  Patrick.  It  was  buried  with  him 
(Saint  Patrick),  as  was  the  custom,  and 
when,  in  556,  Saint  Columba  presided  at 
the  enshrinement  of  Saint  Patrick's  relics, 
he,  by  direction,  he  said,  of  an  angel,  took 
possession  of  Saint  Patrick's  Gospel  for 
Derry.  The  chalice  of  Saint  Patrick  he 


military  map  of  the  i7th  century,  enable 
us  to  locate  it  at  the  extremity  of  the 
street  known  as  Saint  Columba' s  Wells. 

Saint  Martin's  Gospel  was  very  much 
fame'd,  and  continued  to  be  the  chief  relic 
of  Derry  until  the  end  of  the  I3th  century, 
when,  unfortunately,  a  local  chieftain  car 
ried  it  with  him  to  battle  against  the  Eng 
lish.  It  was  lost  and  has  never  since  been 
traced. 

The  possession  of  this  precious  relic  en- 


SAINT  MARTIN'S  ARCH,  JUNE  9,  1897. 

(Where  his  Shrine  used  to  be.) 


gave  to  Down,  and  the  Bell  to  Armagh. 
He  had  always  been  fond  of  Saint  Martin, 
and  we  may,  therefore,  imagine  the  joy 
with  which  he  brought  his  treasure  to  his 
"  own  beloved  Derry."  He  had  a  shrine 
built  purposely  for  it,  and  dedicated  to 
Saint  Martin.  A  "  Holy  Well"  adjoined 
the  shrine,  and,  in  course  of  time,  a  ceme 
tery  was  formed  around  it.  Traces  of  that 
cemetery  are  still  visible,  which,  together 
with  the  scale  measurements  in  Neville's 


tailed  prayers  for  the  dead  and  alms  to  the 
poor.  It  is  curious  that  at  the  present 
time,  the  diocese  of  Derry  boasts  an  heir 
loom  manuscript  of  the  Scriptures  having 
the  same  conditions  attached.  It  is  a 
small  duodecimo  volume,  5^  inches  long, 
4!  broad,  and  i|  thick.  The  parchment 
en  which  it  is  written  is  as  thin  as  tissue 
paper  It  was  written  about  1350;  the 
writing  is  very  small  and  neat.  It  con 
tains  the  whole  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


ments.  On  the  third  page  of  the  Old 
"Testament  and  the  first  page  of  the 
New  the  following  will  appears  in 
Latir  : 

Peter  Paris  has  assigned  this  book  to  Dom. 
John  Spenser  which  he  shall  leave  after  his 
death  to  a  Master  or  Bachelor  of  Arts,  or  to  a 
secular  Irish  priest,  who  is  in  the  habit  of,  or 
disposed  to  preach ;  and  he  on  receipt  of  it  shall 
distribute  to  the  poor,  three  shillings  and  four 
pence,  and  shall  pray  for  the  soul  of  the  said 
Peter,  and  under  these  conditions  it  shall  pass 
from  one  secular  priest  to  another." 

The  volume  has  been  in  the  diocese 
for  some  centuries.  After  Dr.  McDevitt's 
death  it  was  lost,  or  stolen.  Father 
O'Loughlin,  late  P.P.  of  Ballinascreen, 
picked  it  up  for  a  shilling  at  an  old  book 
stall  in  Maynooth.  When  he  brought  it 
home,  the  older  priests  at  once  recognised 
it  as  the  lost  manuscript.  At  his  death  it 


passed  into  the  bishop's  hands,  and  is  now 
in  the  College  Museum. 

"  Many  other,"  adds  the  Book  of  Lis- 
more,  "  were  the  marvels  and  miracles 
which  the  Lord  wrought  for  Columba  in 
Derry." 

He  must  have  had  more  than  one 
church  in  Derry,  for  we  read  in  the 
"  Book  of  Lismore  : 

"  Once  he  sent  his  monks  into  the  wood 
to  cut  wattling  to  build  a  church  for  them 
in  Derry.  The  wood  was  cut  in  the  ter 
ritory  of  a  certain  warrior,  who  dwelt  near 
the  church.  He  was  angry  that  the  wood 
had  been  out  without  his  consent.  So 
when  Columbkille  heard  that,  he  said  tc 
his  monks  :  '  Take  the  price  of  his  wood 
in  barley-grain  and  sow  it  for  him.'  It 
was  then  past  midsummer,  but  it  grew  and 
was  ripe  on  Lammas  day." 


VIEW    OF    DERRY    FROM    CEMETERY. 


I  42  ] 


DURROW. 


D 


life. 


ERRY,  says  Cardinal  Moran, 
was  the  first  great  monastery 
which  he  founded,  and,  as  we 
shall  see,  it  continued  to  be  par 
ticularly  dear  to  him  through 
A  few  years  later  he  founded  a  re 


ligious  house  at  Burrow  in  the  King's 


blessing  the  bitterness   ceased,    and    the- 
fruit  was  changed  into  the  sweetest. 

A  few  crumbling  pieces  of  wall,  man 
tled  with  ivy  and  mosses,  mark  the  an 
cient  site  of  Burrow's  Abbey.  Hard  by, 
a  magnificent  Celtic  Cross,  which  our 
Saint  is  said  to  have  brought  from  Clon- 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  CROSS,  DURROW 


County,  "  a  noble  monastery,"  as  Vener 
able  Bede  writes,  "  which  frrm  the  profu 
sion  of  oak-trees,  is  called  in  Celtic  '  Bear- 
mach/  that  is,  '  the  plain  of  oaks.'  "  He 
adds  that  "  from  it  many  other  monas 
teries  had  their  beginning,  through  Saint 
Columba's  disciples,  both  in  Britain  and 
in  Ireland."  In  this  monastery  there  was 
a  tree  laden  with  fruit  in  autumn,  but  so 
bitter  that  no  one  could  partake  of  it. 
Columba  blessed  the  tree,  and  at  his 


macnoise,  continues  to  arrest  the  atten 
tion  and  arouse  the  devotion  of  the  pil 
grim.     Nearer  still  to  the  ruin  is  Saint 
Columba's  Well,  over  which  a  neat  slab 
bears  the  legend,  common  to  all  his  mon 
astic  wells  in  Ireland: 
"  Her    angels  shall  enjoy  my  sacred  cell, 
My  sloe,  my  nut,  mine  apple  and  my  well." 

Below  one  reads  the  further  inscription  : 

"St.  Columbkille  used  this  well  when  he 
preached  the  Gospel,  and  built  an  abbey  near  it,. 
553-" 


I     43      J 


KELLS. 


THE     monastery     of     Kells,     in 
Meath,    which    he    founded    in 
554,  was  dedicated  to  Our  Lady. 
Its  venerable  Round  Tower  and 
wayside    Crosses,    as    well    as 
Saint  Columba's  House,  or  Cell,  still  at 
tract  the  religious  pilgrim.       Dr.  Petrie, 
whose  authority  must  ever  remain  unques 
tioned  on  points  of  Irish  archaeology,  tells 
us  that  the  "Round  Towers  of  other  days" 


still  extant;  one  is  in  the  market-place, 
which  was  used  as  a  gallows  in  1798; 
another  very  fine  one  still  stands  near  the 
Tower;  while  the  remains  of  a  third  are 
scattered  through  the  church  and  yard. 
Kells  is  exceedingly  rich  in  Columbart 
memories,  and  lies  so  adjacent  to  a  dis 
trict  teeming  with  Christian  and  Pagan 
souvenirs  of  history,  that  it  is  well  worth 
a  summer  day's  visit. 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  HOUSE  OR  CELL  AND  ROUND  TOWER  KELLS,  co.  MEATH. 


were  mostly  erected  in  the  6th  and  suc 
ceeding  centuries,  and  served  the  double 
purpose  of  belfries  at  first,  and  then 
places  of  safety  in  later  and  more  troub 
lous  times.  He  also  vouches  for  the  au 
thenticity  of  Saint  Columba's  House,  that 
it  was  built  in  the  lifetime  of  the  Saint. 
The  lower  compartment,  he  thinks,  was 
used  as  a  chapel.  The  upper  storey  was 
originally  divided  into  three  apartments  of 
unequal  size.  In  the  largest,  which  is  at 
the  East  end,  is  a  flat  stone,  six  feet  long 
and  one  foot  thick,  now  called  Saint  Col 
umba's  bed.  There  are  three  Crosses 


It  is,  however,  particularly  famous  for 
its  copy  of  the  Four  Gospels  in  Latin, 
which  was  written  by  Saint  Columba  him 
self,  and,  which  unrivalled  in  its  illumi 
nated  ornamentation  and  encased  in 
silver  and  gold  and  precious  stones,  was 
for  a  thousand  years  cherished  as  one  of 
the  most  precious  heirlooms  of  the  early 
Irish  Church.  The  Book  of  Durrow, 
which  is  also  a  copy  of  the  Gospels  writ 
ten  by  Columba,  as  he  says  himself,  in 
eleven  days,  and,  like  the  preceding  one, 
now  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  is  a  relic  scarcely  less- 


44 


SAIXT  COLUMBA. 


precious  and  venerable.  At  the  close  of 
the  manuscript  Columba  shows  his  vene- 
. ration  for  the  Apostle  of  Ireland,  Saint 
Patrick,  by  invoking  his  prayers  and 
patronage. 

He  was  no  less  devout  to  Saint  Brigid, 
•the  Mary   of   Erin,   and   he   has  left  us 


The  religious  work  of  Columba  soon 
put  forth  its  branches  and  produced  abun 
dant  fruit  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  So  untiring  were 
his  labours,  so  ardent  his  zeal,  so  generous 
the  munificence  of  his  princely  friends, 
that  in  a  few  years  innumerable  monas- 


SAINT    BRIGID,    "THE    MARY    OF    ERIN." 


an  Irish  poem  in  her  honour,  in  which 
he  salutes  her  as  "  the  glorious  Virgin 
of  Erin,  the  dear  Saint  of  Lagenia, 
the  chief  patron  of  Ireland  after  Patrick, 
the  pillar  of  the  land,  and  he  thus  fer 
vently  invokes  her : 

Brigid,  the  Good  and  the  Virgin, 

Brigid,  our  torch  and  our  sun, 

Brigid,  radiant  and  spotless, 

May  she  lead  us  to  the  eternal  kingdom. 

May  Brigid  defend  us 

Against  all  the  troop  of  demons, 

Against  all  the  enemies  of  life 

May  she  beat  them  all  down  before  us. 


teries  and  churches  sprang  up  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  as  many  as  300  in 
Ireland  alone,  honouring  him  as  their 
patron  and  head. 

To  a  later  period  of  our  Saint's  life  be 
longs  the  foundation  of  Swords,  but  we 
may  tell  the  story  here.  One  day  in  lona 
he  told  his  monks  that  a  deadly  plague 
was  raging  near  Ath-CHath  (Dublin). 
People  there  besought  his  intercession. 
He  was  unable  to  visit  them,  but  blessed 
some  bread,  which  he  commanded  one  of 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


his  monks  to  take  to  the  stricken  locality 
and  dip  it  in  water.  Whosoever  should 
be  sprinkled  with  that  water  would  be 
freed  from  the  disease;  and  it  turned  out 
as  he  foretold.  In  all  this  we  see  nothing 
extraordinary,  or  even  miraculous.  The 
locality  was  Swords ;  the  bread  was  blessed 
by  the  Saint,  and  so  became  a  sacra 
mental;  his  prayers  communicated  that 


the  Saint's  devotion  to  the  use  of  sacra- 
mentals,  as  powerful  aids  to  his  prayer. 

Next  to  Columba's  love  of  church- 
building  was  his  passion  for  copying  the 
Scriptures.  Every  minute  he  could  spare 
up  till  within  a  few  hours  of  his  death 
was  given  to  that  laborious  and  pious  task ;. 
and  most  minutely  did  he  attend  to  the 
formation  of  every  letter,  even,  as  Adam- 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  TOWER,  SWORDS,  co.  DUBLIN. 


blessing  to  the  water,  and  their  continu 
ance,  to  the  persons  sprinkled  with  the 
water,  so  that  the  prayers  of  the  Church, 
recited  by  our  Saint  in  distant  lona,  pro 
cured  for  the  people  of  Swords  relief  from 
the  dreaded  pestilence,  of  which  interces 
sion  the  monastery  subsequently  erected 
and  the  Tower,  which  still  stands,  associ 
ated  with  Columba's  name,  are  enduring 
monuments.  Thus  once  again  we  note 


nan  notes,  to  the  dotting  of  every  "  i."  He 
presented  each  of  his  monasteries  with  a 
copy  of  the  Scriptures  made  by  his  own 
hand.  Three  hundred  such  copies  of  his 
are  said  to  have  been  scattered  throughout 
Ireland. 

He  transcribed,  however,  very  quickly. 
Sometimes  writers,  without  any  real 
grounds  for  their  judgment,  deny  him  the 
credit  of  having  wuLLen  the  Books  of 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Durrow  and  Kells,  those  chef-d'auvres  of 
Irish  art,  unrivalled  of  their  kind  in  the 
world.  But  Mr.  Westwood,  the  best  au 
thority  that  this  century  has  produced 
on  the  subject,  has  no  hesitation  in  de- 
.claring  that  there  is  no  intrinsic  evi 


dence  against  the  verdict  of  tradition  in 
favour  of  Columba's  authorship.  They 
may  have  been  illuminated  or  their  de 
corations  retouched  by  later  hands,  but 
the  hand  of  the  original  scribe  was  our 
saint's. 


1 


47 


HIS    EXILE. 


A  time    went    on  Columba    found 
Ireland  too  small    for  his    mis 
sionary   zeal.      He   yearned   to 
carry  the  light  of  faith  and  the 
blessings   of  civilization   to   the 
Picts  who  dwelt  in  Northern  Caledonia. 
Foolish   legends  would   rob   him   of  his 
missionary  aureole  and  ascribe  his  volun 
tary  exile  to  the  penance  consequent  on 
the    sin   of   bloodshed — as   if   we   could 


haps  it  was  the  artistic  embellishments  he 
wanted  ?  No,  Columba  had  nothing  in 
the  way  of  art  to  learn  from  Finian  or 
any  other  man.  Besides,  the  very  volume 
that  is  pointed  to  as  the  cause  of  mischief, 
is  totally  devoid  of  ornament.  It  is  called 
the  Cathach  or  Battler,  and  is  at  present 
in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.  Fifty-eight 
pages  of  it  remain,  and,  though  un 
doubtedly  in  Columba's  writing,  is  the 


THE    CATHACH    OR    RELIQUARY. 
(Containing  the  Psalter  written  by  St.  Columba.) 


imagine  such  a  thing  of  him  who,  from 
the  cardie  to  the  grave,  was  gentle  as  the 
clove,  pure  as  an  angel,  and  ardent  as  the 
seraphim.  And  then  what  a  senseless 
story  they  tell  about  him  stealthily  copy 
ing  Finian's  Psalter — him  who  had  the 
Psalms  one  and  all  by  rote,  and  who  had 
already  made  copies  innumerable  for  the 
daily  use  of  his  monks  in  choir.  But  per- 


plainest  thing  we  have  from  his  pen. 
Again,  we  are  told  Finian's  copy  was 
Saint  Jerome's  version,  and  that  was 
why  Columba  was  so  anxious  to  get 
the  emendations ;  he  need  not  have 
gone  to  do  that-by  stealth.  Copies  con 
taining  the  corrections  of  Saint  Jerome, 
who  had  died  100  years  before  Columba 
was  born,  were  then  common  enough  in 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Ireland.  The  Book  of  Burrow,  made 
years  before  the  alleged  date  of  this 
Psalter,  was  by  Columba  himself,  and  is 
according  to  Saint  Jerome's  version.  The 
Cathach  was  called  the  Battle  Book,  not 
because  it  gave  occasion  to  the  battle  of 
Cooldrewney,  but,  because,  being  a  relic 
of  Columba,  the  O'Donnells,  thinking  it 
would  bring  them  luck,  used  to  carry  it 
into  battle  with  them. 

Columba  was  in  no  way  responsible  for 


anger  with  Broichan,  who  had  refused  to' 
release  the  Irish  slave  girl.  But  in  no  in 
stance  do  we  read  of  him  'yielding  to  sel 
fish  anger.  He  left  Ireland  because,  as 
the  Venerable  Bede  and  all  who  have 
written  about  the  matter,  testify,'  his  great 
love  of  God  and  zeal  for  souls  would  not 
allow  him  to  remain  in  a  land  studded 
with  churches,  while  across  the  channel 
people  were  perishing  for  want  of  priests 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them. 


DEVENISH    ISLAND,    LOUGH    ERNE. 

Where  Saint  Molaise,  the  ".Soul's  Friend"  of  Columba,  lived,  and  where  he  probably  made  a  Retreat 

before  his  departure  for  lona. 


the  battle  of  Cooldrewney.  He  may  have 
prayed  for  the  success  of  his  kinsmen ;  he 
always  did,  and  later  legends  speak  of  him 
as  the  Saint  invoked  even  by  the  Saxon 
Oswald  on  the  occasion  of  battle.  He 
was  of  a  fiery  and  passionate  tempera 
ment,  but  never  gave  way  to  it  unless 
when  injustice  to  the  poor  called  forth  his 
indignation.  A  characteristic  story  is 
told  of  his  rushing  into  the  sea  after  the 
robbers  who  had  plundered  his  neophyte, 
Columbian,  on  Ardnamurchan,  and  of  his 


"  It  would  then  appear,"  says  Reeves 
(Skene's  Edition,  page  307),  "that  Saint 
Columba's  departure  from  Ireland  to 
lona,  in  563,  was  not  in  consequence  of 
banishment,  as  some  allege,  but  rather  a 
compliance  with  the  impulse  which  at 
that  period"  drove  so  many  from  home  to 
work  for  God. 

O'Donnell  tells  us  that  previous  to  Col 
umba's  departure,  a  great  crowd  of  priests 
and  people  gathered  into  Derry  to  bid 
him  adieu.  When  finally  he  tore  himself 


SAINT  COLUM3A. 


49 


away  from  his  church  and  entered  the 
boat,  the  crowd  walked  along  the  shore 
as  far  as  Glas-am-nionlaid  (Greencastle), 
below  Moville.  Their  grief  was  sad  to 
witness,  and,  he  adds,  overhead  hovered 
a  covey  of  birds,  whose  weird  lamenta 
tion  mournfully  re-echoed  the  sorrow  of 
the  people  on  shore. 

At   the   very   mouth  of   Lough   Foyle 


glimpse  gave  his  soul.  "  Death  in  fault 
less  Erin  is  better  than  perpetual  life  in 
Albion,"  was  a  saying  dug  up  from  the 
very  bottom  of  his  heart. 

It  was  in  May,  563,  that  he  set  sail  for 
lona  in  an  osier  curragh.  He  had  pre 
viously  visited,  and  made  a  retreat,  with 
Saint  Molaise  of  Devenish  Island,  in 
Lough  Erne.  This  Saint  Molaise  was 


DEPARTURE    OF    SAINT    COLUMBA    FROM    DERRY. 
(Sketched  from  the  Elliot  Memorial  Window,  Deny  Cathedral,  by   W.  McDe^'i 


there  is  a  small  creek  known  as  Port  Kill. 
Tradition  says  Columba  disembarked 
there,  and  climbing  the  steep  cliff,  took  a 
last  look  towards  his  loved  Derry.  Then 
with  streaming  eyes  and  sore  heart,  de 
scended  and  took  his  place  at  the  oar. 
Again,  at  Oronsay,  he  stopped  awhile,  and 
bade  farewell  to  his  native  land.  We  can 
well  fancy  what  a  wrench  that  parting 


the  "  soul's  friend,"  that  is,  spiritual  ad 
viser,  of  Columba.  He  (Molaise)  had 
another  establishment  in  Innismurray,  off 
the  coast  of  Sligo,  to  which  some  biogra 
phers  incorrectly  make  our  saint  pay  a 
visit  on  this  occasion.  Columba  had,  of 
course,  been  in  Innismurray  at  an  earlier 
date,  and  has  left  traces  of  his  sojourn 
there  in  indelible  traditions. 


5° 


PILGRIMAGE    TO    IONA. 


BEFORE      detailing    the     Saint's 
life   in   lona   we   may   pause  a 
moment    to    survey    the    island 
where  he  made  his  home.     To 
reach  it   one   must   first   go   to 
Oban,    a    fashionable    watering-place    in 
the  North   of  Scotland,  whence  a  mag 
nificently-appointed    steamer    sails    daily 
during  the  summer  to  lona  and   Staffa, 


be  buried  nigh  Columbkille.  The  word 
"  martyr"  primarily  means  a  witness,  and 
as  these  burials  were  witnesses  to  Col- 
umba's  prophecy  of  the  fame  in  store  for 
lona,  such  revered  corpses  were  termed 
"  martyrs,"  and  the  place  where  they  were 
landed  "  Martyr's  Bay."  Its  white  sands 
were  also  more  than  once  reddened  with 
real  martyr's  blood,  when,  in  troubled 


RUINS    OF    IONA. 

Saint  Oran's  Chapel  is  to  the  right  in  the  Graveyard,  the  Abbot's  Mound  is  to  the  extreme 
left  of  the  picture. 


making  the  round  in  about  ten  hours, 
of  which  two  are  spent  ashore  in 
lona.  As  we  draw  near  to  the 
island  a  rocky  islet  on  the  left  at 
tracts  attention,  and  the  guide  informs 
all  who  may  be  interested  to  hear  that  it 
is  Hinba,  where  Ethne,  the  mother  of 
Columba,  sleeps.  Soon  the  large  row 
'boats  put  out  from  shore,  and  we  clamber 
•over  the  steamer's  side,  and  silently  pass 
the  Martyr's  Bay,  on  whose  sandy  beach 
they  used  to  land  the  bodies  of  the  kings 
and  saints  who  had  expressed  a  desire  to 


times,  the  Norse  pirates  landed  and  the 
monks  were  slain. 

Soon  we  reach  the  landing-stage  and 
hasten  through  the  village.  There  is  an 
inn  where  those  who  wish  to  explore  the 
island  more  fully  may  remain  overnight, 
and  await  the  next  day's  steamer.  The 
first  ruins  we  encounter  are  those  of  an 
Augustinian  nunnery,  established  about 
the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The 
most  remarkable  thing  about  them  is  the 
effigy  of  the  Prioress  Anne,  whose  fame 
and  sanctity  fill  the  later  annals  of  lona. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


NAVE    OF    CATHEDRAL,    1ONA. 
(To  the  right  is  the  pillow-stone  in  iron  case.) 


LADY    CHAPEL,    AS    SEEN    FROM   THE    NORTH    TRANSEPT,    IONA. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


SOUTH    TRANSEPT,   IONA. 


TOMBS    OF    THE    KINGS    (NOT    THE    McCLEANS),    WHOSE    BODIES    WERE    BROUGHT 
FOR    BURIAL    IN    IONA. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


53 


A  little  further  on  our  path  winds  round 
McClean's  Cross,  where  the  pathetic  in 
cident  of  the  "  White  Horse"  took  place 
on  the  last  Saturday  of  Columba's  life- 

The  monastic  ruins  are  now  enclosed 
by  a  wall,  and  carefully  guarded  by  the 
Duke  of  Argyll's  men.  In  the  graveyard 
on  the  right  are  the  remains  of  Saint 
Oran's  Chapel,  measuring  30  feet  by  16 
feet,  and  built  about  the  close  of  the  nth 
century  by  Saint  Margaret,  Queen  of 
Scotland.  It  occupies  the  exact  site  of 
the  old  abbey  church  where  Oran  was 
buried,  and  Columba  died  on  the  altar 


altar,  and  there  are  also  numerous  grav- 
ings  of  chalices  and  other  eucharistic 
emblems. 

Passing  out  of  the  cemetery  we  enter 
the  monastic  enclosure.  To  the  right 
towers  a  lofty  rock,  known  as  the  Tor 
Abb,  or  "  Abbot's  Mound."  It  was  on  it 
Columba  sat  that  last  Saturday  of  his  life 
while  he  blessed  the  abbey  and  island. 
The  ruins  consist  of  the  Cathedral  and 
portion  of  the  cloister,  which  was  arched 
and  quadrangular-  Before  the  western 
door  of  the  Cathedral  stands,  gray  and 
mossy,  the  grand  old  cross  which 


THE    VILLAGE    OF    IONA. 


steps.  In  the  adjoining  cemetery  are 
many  very  interesting  tombs.  The  oldest 
bear  inscriptions  in  Irish,  asking  prayers, 
one  for  the  "  soul  of  Eoghan,"  and  the 
other  for  the  "  soul  of  Maelpatrick." 
Though  Knox's  vandals  destroyed  many 
of  the  more  beautiful  tombs  of  the  kings 
and  saints,  there  still  remain  enough  to 
excite  the  curiosity  and  repay  the  interest 
of  the  traveller. 

One,  very  ancient  but  without  inscrip 
tion,  has  a  beautifully  carved  group  with  a 
priest  at  the  altar  in  the  act  of  elevating 
the  Sacred  Host.  Another  represents  a 
priest  swinging  a  thurible  in  front  of  the 


Columba  reared  in  honour  of  his  patron, 
Saint  Martin. 

We  borrow  the  following  description  of 
it  from  Dr.  Gordon  : — "  It  stands  14  feet 
high,  is  10  inches  thick,  and  18  inches 
broad.  The  carving  on  the  side  facing 
the  Cathedral,  though  not  so  bold  as  on 
the  other  side,  is  more  varied  and  interest 
ing  ...  In  a  circle  in  the  centre  is  con 
tained  a  rude  representation  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  and  her  Divine  Infant,  with  four 
angels  hovering  round  in  adoration.  Down 
the  stem  are  four  rows  of  figures,  of  which 
one  represents  a  priest  at  Mass.  The 
lower  compartment  represents  six  fruits 


54 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


intertwisted  with  twelve  serpents,  pro 
bably  the  Temptation  in  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  etc." 

Hard  by  is  the  shaft  of  Saint  John's 
Cross.  There  were  once  365  crosses  in 
the  island,  but  now  only  two  whole  ones 
and  a  number  of  broken  pieces  remain- 

A  little  to  the  left  of  Saint  Martin's 
Cross  is  the  Well,  now  filled  up,  into 
which  it  is  thought  many  interesting  ob 
jects  were  thrown  at  the  dissolution.  The 
Duke  of  Argyll  has,  up  to  the  present, 
absolutely  forbidden  any  exploration  of 
it.  But  adjoining  it  was  a  mound  of  clay 


metal  cage  in  the  east  end  of  the  Cathe 
dral,  and  may  easily  be  discerned  to  the 
right  in  our  illustration  of  the  interior. 
Of  course,  the  relics  of  Saint  Columba 
which  had  been  enshrined  in  lona  about 
a  century  after  his  death,  were  removed 
long  before  to  Ireland,  where  we  shall 
trace  them  later  on- 
Entering  the  cathedral  we  are  at  once 
struck  by  the  beauty  and  grace  of  its  pro 
portions  and  ornaments.  An  inscription 
on  one  of  the  capitals  reads  "  Donaldus 
o  Brolcain  hoc  opus  fecit,"  "Donald 
O'Brolcain  erected  this  edifice."  From 


MARTYR  S    BAY, 
Where  the  bodies  01  saints  or   amous  men  who  wished  to  be  buried  in  lona  were  landed. 


and  rubbish,  also  dating  from  the  i6th 
century.  Tradition  termed  it  the  "  Graves 
of  Columba  and  Diarmid."  He  (the 
Duke)  had  the  stuff  cleared  away,  reveal 
ing  a  walled  enclosure  containing  two 
stone  coffins,  one  empty  (Saint  Columba's) 
and  the  other  containing  human  dust 
(Diarmid's).  There  was  also  found  a  heart- 
shaped  stone,  with  an  incised  cross,  an 
swering  the  description  of  the  "  pillow- 
stone"  which  Columba  had  used,  and 
which,  the  tradition  of  the  island  asserted, 
had  been  hidden  with  the  coffins  at  the 
unfortunate  period  of  the  Reformation. 
That  stone  is  now  carefully  encased  in  a 


the  Annals  of  Ulster  we  learn  that  Donald 
O'Brolcain  was  at  one  time  Prior  of  Derry, 
and  that  he  died  Prior  of  lona  in  1203. 
He  was  thus  a  contemporary,  and  likely 
a  kinsman  of  Flathbert  O'Brolcain,  or 
Bradley,  who  built  the  "Temple  More,"  cr 
Long  Tower  of  Derry,  in  1164.  We 
know  from  many  authentic  sources  that 
Flathbert  was  in  that  very  year  (1164) 
offered  the  Abbacy  of  lona.  Al 
though  he  declined  the  Abbacy,  inasmuch 
as  it  would  have  involved  constant  resi 
dence  in  lona,  and  therefore  absence  from 
his  lately  erected  See  of  Derry;  neverthe 
less,  as  the  Annals  of  lona  testify,  he 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


55 


became  superintendent,  as  it  were,  of  lona, 
and  continued  to  exercise  supervision  over 
it  till  his  death,  in  1175. 

The  capitals  of  granite  are  carved  with 
various  designs,  such  as  the  Fall  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  the  Crucifixion,  the  Agony  in 
the  Garden,  Saint  Peter  and  Malchus, 
Saint  Michael  the  "  weigher  of  souls,"  etc. 
In  the  north  transept,  where  Saint  Col- 
umba's  wicker  cell  is  said  to  have  stood, 
are  recesses  for  two  confessionals,  and  a 
statue  niche.  The  marble  holy-water 
fonts  by  the  doors  were  not  altogether 


main.  The  Lady-chapel,  which  abutted 
on  the  south  transept,  suffered  most  from 
the  destroying  fury  of  the  Reformers,  but 
enough  remains  to  give  one  an  idea  of 
how  fair  it  was.  The  tombs  of  Abbot 
McKimmon  and  his  comrades,  on  the 
whilom  sanctuary  floor,  though  they  have 
been  picked  and  robbed  of  their  en 
crusted  silver  and  pearls,  claim'  more  than 
a  passing  tribute  of  attention  and  prayer. 
But  the  boatman's  whistle  sounds,  and  we 
must  away  to  watch  from  the  receding 
deck  the  famed  shores  of  lona,  and  dream 


RUINS    OF    THE    NUNNERY,    IOVA 
They  are  close  to  the  vil'age,  on  the  path  to  the  Cathedral. 


obliterated  by  the  vandals  of  the  Reforma-  as  they  pass  from  sight,  of  the  day  when 
tion,  and  pieces  of  the  sedilia  and  piscina  we  shall  meet  their  sainted  heroes  beyond 
to  the  Epistle  side  of  the  altar  yet  re-  yon  grey-flecked  skies. 


"FIRST    MASS    IN    IONA." 


COLUMBA  had   before   leaving 
Ireland  arranged  with  Connal, 
the  chieftain  of  Dalriada,  for  the 
possession  of  lona,  then  an  un 
inhabited  island.  It  was  on  the 
morning  of  Pentecost  Sunday,  563,  that 
he  stepped  ashore  at  Port-na-Curriach,  on 
the   western  coast,    and  in   the  name   of 
Christ  took  possession  by  offering  up  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  on  the  shore 
nearest  Ireland. 

Centuries  afterwards  a  celebrated 
scholar — a  descendant  of  the  people  Col- 
umba  went  to  save — Dr.  Johnson,  gave 
utterance  to  the  feelings  that  should  ani 
mate  all  who  land  on  the  beach  of  lona : 
"  We  were  now  treading  that  illustrious 
island  which  was  once  the  luminary  of  the 
Caledonian  regions,  whence  savage  clans 


and  roving  barbarians  derived  the  bene 
fits  of  knowledge  and  the  blessings  of  re 
ligion.  To  abstract  the  mind  from  all 
local  emotion  would  be  impossible,  if  it 
were  endeavoured,  and  would  be  foolish 
if  it  were  possible.  Far  from  me  and 
from  my  friends  be  such  frigid  philosophy 
as  may  conduct  us,  indifferent  and  un 
moved,  over  any  ground  which  has  been 
dignified  by  wisdom,  bravery,  or  virtue. 
That  man  is  little  to  be  envied  whose  pat 
riotism  would  not  gain  force  upon  the 
plain  of  Marathon,  or  whose  piety  would 
not  grow  warmer  among  the  ruins  of 
lona." 

On  the  eastern  shore,  in  a  sheltered 
nook  by  the  Sound,  Columba  erected  his 
wooden  church  and  the  osier  cells  of  his 
monks. 


A    GREAT    DERRY    SAINT. 


A    FEW  months  afterwards,  on  the 
27th   October,   "Saint   Oran,  a 
monk   of   Derry,   died."       Col 
umba  had  a  great  regard  for  his 
sanctity.    His  body  was  interred 
within  the  little  church,  which  then  re 
ceived  his  name,   and  which,   rebuilt  of 
stone  in  the  nth  century  by  Saint  Mar 
garet,  still,  in  its  ruins,  retains  that  name. 
A  few  days  before  his  death  Saint  Col 
umba  remarked  to  Diarmid,  his  attendant, 
that   whosoever    wanted    to    obtain    any 


favour  at  his  grave  should  first  pray  at  the 
grave  of  Oran.  There  may,  of  course, 
have  been  another  thought  in  the  Saint's 
mind.  Oran  was  buried  in  the  chapel 
before  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Oran's 
grave  may,  therefore,  have  been — most 
likely  was — another  name  for  the  chapel, 
and  what  our  Saint  wished  to  inculcate 
was  fervent  prayer  to  Our  Divine  Lord  in 
the  Tabernacle  on  the  part  of  all  who 
wished  to  visit  his  grave,  honour  his  per 
son,  or  claim  his  protection. 


[     57     ] 


CONVERSION    OF    THE    PICTS. 


FOR  two  whole  vears  Columba  and 
his    monks    remained    on    the 
island  engaged  solely  in  prayer 
and  preparation  for  their  work. 
He  had  two  objects  immediately 
in  view  when  leaving  Ireland.     One  was 
the  conversion  of  the  Picts,  and  the  other 
the  amelioration  of  the  Scots  in  Dalriada. 
To  the  former,  after  his  two  years'  retreat 


they  too  parted.  Admitted  to  the  pre 
sence  of  Brude,  Columba  himself  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  the  hand  which 
the  king  had  threateningly  raised,  fell 
palsied  by  his  side,  and  so  remained  until 
his  baptism,  which  followed  as  a  natural 
consequence  of  such  manifestations  of 
divine  power  and  of  the  graces  poured 
down  by  God  on  such  occasions. 


INVERNESS,    SCOTLAND. 


in  lona,  he  devoted  himself  with  all  the 
zeal  and  fervour  his  generous  nature  was 
capable  of.  The  Pictish  King,  Brude, 
was  then  resident  in  his  fortification  at 
Inverness.  Thither  Columba,  accom 
panied  by  Comgall  and  Canice,  went.  The 
gates  were  closed  against  them,  but  when 
Comgall  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  the 
outer  gates  flew  open,  and  advancing  to 
the  inner  Canice  signed  the  cross,  when 


We  know  but  very  little  of  the  details  of 
Columba's  thirty-four  years'  missionary  toil 
amongst  the  Picts.  The  glorious  result  is, 
however,  written  in  letters  of  light  in  the 
history  of  the  Church ;  for,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Patrick's  Apostolate  to  Ire 
land,  it  is  the  only  instance  in  post- 
Apostolic  times  of  a  whole  nation 
being  converted  by  the  labours  of  an 
individual. 


THE    SCOTS. 


IRELAND      was      formerly      known 
as    Scotia,    and    her    children    as 
Scots.       The    present    county     of 
Antrim    was,    in    Columba's    time, 
called      Dalriada.        From      it     a 
colony    of    Scots    had    gone    over    and 
taken    possession    of    the    south-western 
portion    of    Caledonia.       They    gave   it 
the  name  of  Dalriada,   and  from  them 
selves   the   name   Scot   gradually  passed 
to    all    the    inhabitants    of    Caledonia, 
which    in    time,    as    the    name    Scotia 
ceased  to  be  applied  to  Ireland,  became 
the  "  land  of  Scots,"  or  Scotland.     This 
Scottish  colony  had  continued  to  pay  tri 
bute  to  the  motherland,  but  was  begin 
ning  to  find  it  irksome.     Columba,  who 
was  a  statesman  as  well  as  a  priest,  and  a 
statesman  of  no  ordinary  type,  dreamt  of 
welding  the  Irish  clans  into  a  consoli 
dated  state,  and  of  joining  them  in  a  con 
federacy,  based  on  blood,  affection,  and 
mutual  interests  with  their  friends  across 
the  channel.     For  that  purpose  it  was 


necessary  that  the  Picts,  having  been  cor*- 
verted,  should  co-operate  with  the  Scots 
in  Caledonia;  that  the  latter  should  be 
free  from  tribute,  and  joined  as  allies  only, 
with  the  home  country,  and  that  the  Irish 
chieftains  should  be  brought  together  and 
made  to  see  that  their  strength,  as  well  as 
their  safety,  lay  only  in  union.  His 
dream  even  anticipated  the  foundation  of 
Lindisfarne,  and  the  influence  his  monks 
should  acquire  for  their  motherland  in 
Northern  England.  The  glory  of  God 
was,  of  course,  his  primary  object; but,  in 
his  eyes,  the  exaltation  of  Ireland  was  the 
best  and  readiest  means  of  accomplishing 
it. 

To  that  end  then  he  laboured  nard  to 
convert  the  Picts.  He  journeyed,  fasted, 
preached,  prayed,  and,  above  all,  cele 
brated  the  Holy  Sacrifice  for  that 
end,  for  it  was  before  the  altar  all 
his  plans  were  laid,  and  it  was  by 
the  Mass  all  his  victories  were  really 
won. 


THE    GREAT    CONVENTION    OF    DRUMCEATT. 


TO    the   Scots,   too,  he  preached, 
and     endeavoured     to     inspire 
them  with  loftier  ideas  of  life 
and   patriotism.     Perhaps,   too, 
he  harped  a  little  on  the  strings 
of  ambition.     Anyway,  he  awakened  their 
slumbering  sense  of  religion,  banded  them 
together  as  a  nation,  and  then  brought 
their  chieftain  Aidan  to  lona,   anointed 
him  with  holy  chrism,  and  enthroned  him 
on  that  stone  which,  afterwards  removed 
to  Scone,  is  now,  they  say,  part  of  the 


Queen's  coronation  chair  in  Westminster 
Abbey.  He  had  still  more  to  do.  The 
Scots  in  Caledonia  had  tribute  to  pay  to 
their  mother  country,  Ireland.  Columba 
wanted  them  to  be  free  and  independent. 
So  he  managed  to  have  the  notables  of 
Ireland  summoned  to  a  Parliamentary  as 
sembly  or  convention  at  Drumceatt,  near 
Limavady,  in  the  county  of  Deny.  Dr. 
Reeves  thinks  the  exact  spot  was  the  Mul- 
lagh  or  Daisy  Hill  in  Roe  Park,  and  over 
looking  the  River  Roe.  The  Most  Rev. 


SAINT  COLUMBA 


59 


Dr.  O'Doherty,  Bishop  of  Derry,  has,  how 
ever,  published  a  very  learned  monograph 
on  the  subject,  claiming  the  honour  for 
Enagh  Hill,  a  short  distance  off,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river.  In  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  Limavady,  however,  the 
States  of  Ireland  met.  Columba,  accom 
panied  by  Aiden  and  attended  by  a  large 
retinue  of  clergy,  appeared  to  plead  in 
person  the  cause  of  the  Albanian  Scots. 


Though  his  principal  object  in  coming 
to  Drumceatt  was  to  help  the  Dalriadan 
Scots,  Columba  remained  to  plead  the 
cause  of  the  bards  then  threatened  with 
extinction.  A  poet  himself  of  a  very  high 
order,  he  felt  a  keen  sympathy  on  the  one 
hand  with  his  brother-bards,  and  on  the 
other  could  not  but  admit  that  serious 
abuses  existed.  "Mend,"  he  cried,  "but 
do  not  end  the  order,"  and  ultimately  suc- 


THE    MULLAGH,    OR    DAISY    HILL,    LIMAVADY,    CO.     DERRY. 
(The  site,  according  to  Dr.  Reeves,  of  Drumceatt.) 


His  eloquence  won  the  day — and  ever 
since  he  had  been  rightfully  regarded  as 
the  champion  of  freedom — the  saint  of 
patriotism.  Would  to  God  he  were  back 
again  to  plead  the  cause  of  motherland  and 
weld  together  the  shattered  links  of  Irish 
unity 


ceeded  in  evolving  such  a  scheme  as 
pleased  all  parties.  He  was  also  most 
anxious  about  the  release  from  prison  of 
a  young  prince  of  Ossory,  for  whom  he 
prayed  long  in  vain,  and  only  won  in  the 
end  by  dint  of  great  earnestness  and  the 
exercise  of  all  his  powerful  influence. 


60 


MIRACLES   AT   DRUMCEATT. 


THIS   visit   to   Drumceatt,   near 
which  was  Saint   Canice's  first 
church,  was  the  occasion  of  an 
extraordinary    manifestation    of 
miraculous    powers.     The    sick 
and  infirm  were  brought  to  him  from  all 
parts  of  the  province,  and  God  blessed 
the  touch  of  his  hands  and  granted  all  his 
prayers  on  their  behalf. 

The   memory    of   such   an   event   was 
naturally    kept    alive    and    fresh    by    a 


lessons  of  his  mission — that  it  was  doing 
in  his  name  what  he  would  have  prescribed 
himself  had  he  been  present.  In  the  same 
spirit  the  present  gifted  and  zealous  ruler 
of  the  diocese  has  ordered  that  Saint  Col- 
umba's  Day  shall  always  be  observed  in 
the  church  built  on  the  site  of  his  Dubh- 
regles,  by  a  solemn  exposition  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  and  our  Holy  Father, 
Pope  Leo  XIIL,  has  been  graciously 
pleased  to  grant  a  Plenary  Indulgence  to 


ENAGH. 
Where  Saint  Mellon,  nephew  of  Saint  Columba,  died,  January  4th,  and  Saint  Columb-Crag  on  September  22nd. 


grateful  people;  and  Father  Colgan,  the 
Irish  Bollandist,  himself  a  native  of  the 
diocese  of  Deny,  says  in  his  Trias  Thau- 
maturgas,  that  up  to  his  own  day  (1642) 
the  visit  was  still  commemorated  by  an 
nual  processions  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
Priests  and  people  thoroughly  understood 
Columba's  mind  that  in  that  way  alone 
could  he  be  pleased — nay,  that  it  was 
merely  putting  into  practice  the  earnest 


all  communicants  in  the  church  on  the 
Feast  day  itself,  or  within  the  preparatory 
novena.  Thus  may  Columba's  work  go 
on,  and  his  spirit,  ever  hovering  over  Derry 
as  he  promised,  guide  and  direct  it. 

From  Dr.  O'Doherty's  work  on  Drum 
ceatt,  referred  to  above,  we  may  quote  the 
following  beautiful  sketch  of  the  Saint :  — 
"  Where  in  the  history  of  any  country  is 
there  a  name  more  dearly  or  more  deser- 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


61 


vedly  cherished  than  that  of  the  "  Dove  of 
the  Church,"  our  own  Saint  Columba  ? 
No  name  brings  before  the  Irish  mind 
more  glorious  reminiscences  than  this; 
and  whether  as  a  stripling  in  the  paternal 
halls  of  Kilmacrenan,  as  a  youth  by  the 
banks  of  Strangford  Lough,  in  the  school 
of  Saint  Finian,  or  as  the  great  apostle  in 
the  lonely  and  penitential  cell  of  lona, 
he  is  ever  to  us  the  model  of  spotless 
purity,  of  burning  fervour,  of  distinguished 
wisdom  and  prudence,  and  of  a  patriotism 
that,  next  to  his  love  of  God,  consumed 
his  very  soul.  Nearly  thirteen  centuries 
have  rolled  away  since  he  breathed  his  last 
amid  his  sorrowing  monks  in  Hy,  and  yet 
is  he  familiarly  spoken  of  by  the  Irish 
people  in  every  region  as  if  he  had  lived 
and  moved  amongst  them  from  childhood. 
The  holy  wells,  popularly  believed  to  have 
been  blessed  by  him,  the  stones  where  he 
knelt  in  prayer  and  left  the  sacred  impress 
of  his  knees,  the  blessings  or  the  maledic 
tions  uttered  by  him — what  are  they  all 
but  mementoes,  fond,  though  it  may  be 
fanciful,  that  a  grateful  race  have  cherished 
and  nursed  for  ages  regarding  this  wonder 
ful  man.  The  tall,  commanding  form,  the 
keen  and  flashing  eye,  the  angelic  loveli 
ness  of  the  countenance,  the  rich,  melo 
dious  voice,  the  copious  and  impressive 
eloquence  which  subdued  even  kings  and 
courts  and  swayed  the  destinies  of  nations 
yet  unborn,  the  statesmanlike  and  highly 
cultivated  mind — these  have  all  been  fa 
miliar  to  us  since  childhood,  and  are  pic 
tures  on  which  fancy  has  loved  to  dwell 
from  our  earliest  years.  Nowhere,  how 
ever,  does  the  innate  nobleness  of  his  char 
acter  shine  to  greater  advantage  than  at 
the  Convention  of  Drumceatt,  where,  in 
the  presence  of  hostile  kings  and  mutually 
jealous  clans,  he  pleads  the  cause  of  jus 
tice,  of  learning,  and  of  mercy.  The 
princes  and  the  rulers  of  the  land  were 
there;  the  prelates  and  priests  and  poets 
had  their  respective  positions  in  that  as 
sembly;  various  feelings  and  various  in 
terests  were  at  work,  but  the  master-hand 


of  the  Abbot  of  lona  blended  into  one 
harmonious  whole  the  conflicting  interests 
of  the  assembled  thousands,  and  swayed 
like  another  Moses,  a  people  scarcely  less 
stubborn  and  scarcely  less  fickle  than  the 
tribes  of  Israel.  If  war  between  the  Dal- 
riadian  colony  and  the  parent  country  was 
averted,  to  Columba  is  the  honour  due; 
if  the  cause  of  learning  in  the  persons  of 
the  poets  was  preserved  from  destruction, 
to  the  apostle  of  Scotland  must  the  credit 
be  ever  given;  and  if  the  fetters  of  the 
captive  Scanlan  Mor  of  Ossory  were  not 
broken,  it  was  not  that  the  fervid  elo 
quence  of  Columbkille  was  wanting,  but 
that  the  heart  of  Hugh  was  steeled  against 
the  inroads  of  the  slightest  feeling  of  mercy 
for  his  prisoner.  What  good  for  future 
generations  the  wise  counsels  of  the  Saint 
effected  at  this  parliament  we  cannot  now 
sufficiently  appreciate,  but  we  know  that  it 
was  the  salutary  regulations  there  enacted 
that  made  the  schools  of  Ireland  for  so 
many  centuries  afterwards  the  light  and 
glory  of  Christendom.  To  Columba  was 
this  mainly  due,  and  to  him.  must  every 
grateful  son  of  Ireland,  in  ages  yet  to 
come,  reverently  bow  as  the  great  father 
and  protector  of  literature.  Though  the 
schools  which  sprang  into  existence  about 
that  time  are  now  no  more,  though  Ban- 
gor,  Clonmacnoise,  Clonard,  Moville, 
Kells,  and  Derry,  are  stripped  of  their  an 
cient  glories,  though  the  bards  who  go 
verned  the  colleges  are,  like  their  schools, 
long  since  passed  away,  still  the  name  of 
him  who  pleaded  so  well  the  cause  of 
master  and  pupil  is  written,  and  for  ever 
shall  be  indelibly  written,  on  the  hearts  of 
the  Irish  people.  Whilst  the  Roe  steals 
down  from  its  distant  fountain  in  Glen- 
shane  and  mingles  its  waters  with  the  tur 
bid  Foyle ;  whilst  the  winter  storm  beats 
vainly  against  the  rocky  battlements  of 
Magilligan,  and  howls  in  fury  around  the 
summit  of  the  Keady ;  whilst  returning 
spring  scatters  its  thousand  beauties  over 
the  broad  lands  of  O'Cahan  and  restores 
the  buds  and  blossoms  to  the  widowed 


62 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


forests,  so  long  shall  the  name  of  Columba 
be  handed  down  with  benedictions  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  the  blessings 
that  his  golden  eloquence  was  for 


the  people  at  the  Parliament  of  Drum- 

ceatt     be     for     ever     lauded  by     the 

patriot,     the     philanthropist,  and     the 
scholar. 


P1ETA,    THIRTEENTH    STATION. 

Mary  clasped  fhe  dead  body  of  Jesus  to  her  breast ;  but  you  may  receive  that 

same  body,  now  living,  into  your  heart.     Take  Columba's 

advice,  and  do  so  often. 


WEEKLY  COMMUNION. 


DR.  REEVES  tells  us,  at  page  38 
of  his  Adamnan,  that  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Saint's  visit  to 
Drumceatt  he     contracted    a 
warm    friendship    with    young 
Prince  Donal,  for  whom  he  prophesied 
the  future  sovereignty  of  Ireland,  and  for 
whose     spiritual     guidance     he     framed 
seven    rules.       He   would,    however,    be 
satisfied    if    Donal    kept     one    of    the 
seven.       That     one,     however,     was     a 
most     particular     and     important     one, 
being  that  he  should  go  to  Holy  Com 


munion  every  Sunday.  On  this  weekly 
communion  Saint  Columba  laid  greal 
stress.  His  prophecies  were  fulfilled,  and 
so  too,  adds  the  Four  Masters,  was  tbe 
sacred  injunction,  for  "  Donal  received 
every  eight  days,  to  the  last  week  cf  his 
life,  the  Body  of  Christ."  Were  that 
advice  more  literally  followed  to-day 
how  much  happier  it  would  be  for 
our  land  !  The  story  indicates  pretty 
clearly,  anyway,  what  Columba  would 
preach  nowadays  regarding  frequent 
communion. 


VISITATIONS. 


COLUMBA    did    not    return    im 
mediately  to  lona,  but  after  re 
maining   some    time   in   Derry, 
visited    all    his    Irish    founda 
tions — a    visitation     which    he 
seems    to    have   made   more   than    once 
from  his  island  home  in  lona.    "  There 
is  no  doubt,"  says   Montelembert,  "  that 
after    the  assembly  of  Drumceatt,   Col- 
umba    made    many     journeys     to     Ire- 


made  on  foot.  He  did  not  limit  himself 
to  communities  of  which  he  was  the 
superior,  or  founder;  he  loved  to  visit 
other  monastic  sanctuaries  also,  such  as 
that  of  Clonmacnoise.  On  such  occasions 
the  crowding  and  eagerness  of  the  monks 
to  pay  their  homage  to  the  holy  and  be 
loved  old  man  was  marvellous  :  they  left 
their  outdoor  work  and  crossing  the 
earthen  entrenchments,  which  always  en- 


RUINS    AT    CL'ONMACNOISE 


land  for  the  direction  of  his  monas 
teries,  etc. ;  those  visits  were  always  made 
notable  by  miracles  of  healing,  prophecy, 
or  revelation,  and  still  more  by  the  pater 
nal  solicitude  of  his  affectionate  heart. 
Sometimes,  towards  the  decline  of  his  life, 
while  traversing  a  hilly  or  marshy  country 
he  travelled  on  a  car,  as  Saint  Patrick  had 
done;  but  the  care  with  which  his  bio 
graphers  note  this  fact  proves  that  formerly 
the  greater  part  of  his  journeys  had  been 


closed  the  Celtic  monasteries,  came  to 
meet  him,  chanting  hymns.  When  they 
came  up  to  him  they  prostrated  themselves 
at  his  feet  ere  they  embraced  him;  and 
in  order  to  shelter  him  from  the  crowd 
during  the  solemn  processions  which  were 
made  in  his  honour,  a  rampart  of  branches 
was  carried,  like  a  dais,  by  four  men,  who 
surrounded  him,  treading  with  equal  steps. 
On  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Clon 
macnoise  a  little  boy  pressed  in  close  to 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


the  Saint.  The  people  were  angry  with 
the  lad,  whom  they  thought  half-witted, 
and  tried  to  get  him  back ;  but  Columba 


held  him,  blessed  him,  and  prophesied  a 
saintly  future  for  him,  which  was  fulfilled, 
as  he  is  the  Saint  Ernan  of  the  calendar. 


DAY'S   WORK    IN    IONA. 


THE    day    in    lona    was    divided 
into    periods    for    labour    and 
prayer.     The  various    parts   of 
the  "  Divine  Office"  were  recited 
in  the  church,  which  was  open 
day  and  night.      Farm  labour,  tilling  the 
fields,  rearing  sheep  and  cattle,  grinding 
corn,  fishing,  etc.,  were  the  chief  kinds  of 
manual  labour.       The  monastery  had  a 
mill,  a  smithy,  and  a  carpenter's  shop,  and 
we  find  the  monks  employed  at  different 
times  in  all  these  vaiieties  of  work.  Even 
Columba  himself  helped  to  carry  the  sacks 
of  flour  on  his  shoulders  from  the  mill  to 
the   monastery   storerooms.       Study   and 
transcription  of  the  Scriptures  and  other 
books  were,  however,  the  main  occupation 
of  the  monks  when  not  engaged  in  devo 
tional  exercises.     Guests  were  warmly  wel 


comed,  and  their  comforts  seen  to  by  Col 
umba  himself. 

Long  voyages  were  frequently  made  in 
quest  of  hermit-isles  and  souls.  Monks 
from  lona  penetrated  as  far  north  a.s  Ice 
land,  and  left  many  traces  of  their  work 
behind  them.  The  Faroe  Islands,  etc., 
were  also  visited  by  them,  and  to  this  day 
the  inhabitants  of  St.  Kilda — stern  Cal- 
vinists  though  they  be — commemorate  the 
discovery  of  that  island  by  Columba' s 
monks  and  keep  his  day,  the  Qth  of  June, 
as  a  general  festival.  A  curious  custom 
still  appears  amongst  them  on  that  day. 
All  the  milkings  of  the  island  are  brought 
together  and  mixed,  and  an  equal  quantity 
given  to  each,  whether  they  contributed  to 
the  general  store  or  not.  It  is  a  remnant 
of  the  monastic  "  community  of  goods." 


PRAYER  OF  CANICE  BEFORE  THE   BLESSED  SACRAMENT. 


TO     one     of    these     adevnturous 
journeys  we  are  indebted  for  a 
very   pretty   and   forcible   illus 
tration  of  the  superior  efficacy 
of  prayer,  when  made  before  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  Columba  and  some  of 
his  monks  were  out  in  the  Northern  Seas. 
A  storm  was  raging,  and  they  were  about 
to  be  swamped.     "  Can  you  not  pray  us 
out  of  this  danger  ?"  said  his  companions 
to  Columba.  "  I  cannot,"  he  replied,  "  but 
if  Canice  only  knew  he  could."     At  that 
same  moment  Canice  was  sitting  down  to 
dinner  in  his  monastery  of  Aghaboe  when 
he  seemed  to  feel  Columba's  danger.     In 
stantly  starting  up  he  slipped  one  foot  into 
its  sandal  and  without  waiting  to  put  on 
the  other,  ran  to  the  church,  "  for,"  said  he, 


"  Columba  is  in  great  danger,  and  I  must 
go  to  pray  for  him."  He  did,  and  Columba 
thanked  God  that  He  had  heard  the  prayer 
of  Canice,  and  saved  them  from  a  watery 
grave,  for  there  was  one  in  the  boat  who 
was  none  too  ready  for  judgment.  Now, 
why  did  not  Columba,  greater  Saint  as  he 
was,  pray  himself,  and  God  hearken  to  his 
prayer  from  the  boat  ?  Why  did  not 
Canice  pray  in  his  refectory  ?  Why  such 
shoeless  haste  to  get  to  the  church  to  pour 
forth  a  prayer  ?  It  was  because  in  the 
church  was  He  who  stilled  the  waves  of 
Genesareth,  and  who  was  waiting  to  be 
asked,  as  He  had  to  be  asked  in  the  Gali 
lean  boat  The  story  should  serve  to  re 
mind  us  that  the  best  place  to  pray  is  be 
fore  the  Tabernacle. 


.School  Banner.} 


ISt.  Colnmba's  School 


SAINT    AGNES    PRESENTING    CHILDREN    TO    OUR    LADY. 


SAINT    JOHN 
iTl.e  Beloved  Disciple). 


SAINT    PAUL. 


SAINT    CECILIA 
(November  22). 


SAINT    AUGUSTINE 
(Patron  of  the  later  Abbey  of  Derry). 

PAINT  MARY  MAGDALEN. 


"All  ye  Saints  of  God,  make    nterce.ssion  for  us 


I     65     J 


MASS    IN    HINBA, 


NEAR  lona  is  a  very  bleak  rocky 
island,  known  as  Hinba,  or,  in 
Gaelic,  as  Eilean-na-nave,  "  the 
—  Island  of  the   Saints."     There 

Eithne,  the  mother  of  Columba, 
spent  the  declining  years  of  her  life,  and 
there  she  is  buried.  Columba  used  fre 
quently  to  visit  her  there.  On  one  oc 
casion  after  her  death  he  and  Saints  Cor- 
mac,  Comgall,  Brendan,  and  Canice 
visited  the  island,  and  Columba  offered 


up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and 
Saint  Canice  has  left  it  on  record  for  us 
that  he  and  his  companions  saw  a  pillar 
of  glowing  fire  reach  up  from  the  altar  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  see,  all  the  time  of 
the  Mass.  On  another  occasion  Saint 
Columba  himself  admitted  that  God  had 
given  him  a  most  wonderful  insight  into 
the  teachings  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  the 
nature  of  the  Eucharistic  Presence  while 
he  was  in  ecstasy  in  Hinba. 


ANGEL   VISITANTS. 


W 


E  have  seen  how  Col- 
umba's  ardent  love  of 
the  lonely  victim  of  the 
Tabernacle,  combined 
with  his  almost  angelic 
purity  and  sublime  virtue,  won  him  many 
a  glimpse  of  those  thousands  of  angels 
into  whose  midst  Saint  Paul  reminds  us 
we  go  every  time  we  enter  the  Real  Pre 
sence. 

It  was  not  only  in  the  church  Columba 
held  converse  with  them.  He  fancied,  or 
saw,  the  oak  groves  of  Derry  peopled 
with  them,  every  quivering  leaf  seeming 
to  indicate  a  "white-robed  angel's  pre 
sence."  He  saw  them  frequently  come 
down  from  heaven  to  bear  aloft  the  soul 
of  a  dying  saint,  even  as  in  the  Gospel 
narrative  they  bore  Lazarus ;  he  sent  them 
hither  and  thither  to  help  his  friends  in 
need,  such  as  the  man  falling  from  the 
tower  of  Durrow,  whom  the  angel  saved, 
at  Columba's  bidding. 

There  is  in  lona  a  hillock  called  Knoc- 
n-angel,  "the  Hill  of  the  Angels." 
Hither  one  day  Columba  had  gone.  He 
had  forbidden  the  monks  to  follow  him, 
"but,"  says  Adamnan,  "one  of  them, 
yielding  to  his  curiosity,  slipped  off 


another  way,  and  ensconced  himself  on 
the  top  of  another  hill,  whence  he  could 


SAINT    COLUMBA    ON    THE    "  ANGELS'    HILL,"    IONA. 

have  a  view  of  what  passed.       God,  for 
His  own  honour  and  the  sake  of  the  Saint. 


66 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


actually  permitted  him  to  see  Columba 
standing  with  outstretched  hands  and  up 
raised  eyes,  when  all  at  once  a  great 
brightness  shone  around  the  hill  and 
angel  forms  clad  in  white  shimmering 
robes,  gathered  around  him  and  began  to 
talk  with  him,  and  then,  as  if  noticing 
themselves  under  observation,  quickly 


sped  back  to  the  highest  heavens.  That 
night  Columba  sternly  demanded  of  his 
monks  who  had  disobeyed  him,  and  the 
poor  delinquent,  already  most  penitent, 
humbly  confessed  his  fault,  and  was  com 
manded  never  to  reveal  to  anyone 
what  he  had  witnessed  while  Columba 
lived. 


THE    POWER   OF    CHARITY." 


OF    all   the    angelic    visions    re 
corded  in  the  life  of  our  saint 
by  Adamnan,  none  seems  to  me 
so  instructive  as  that  which  hap 
pened  at  the  death  of  a  poor 
blacksmith  in  the  midlands  of  Ireland, 
who  had  "  Columba"  as  a  Christian  name. 
"  This   Columba   Coilrigin  was,"   says 
Adamnan,  "  very  intent  on  almsdeeds  and 
other  works  of  mercy,  and  at  the  moment 
of  his  death  our  Columba,  then  in  lona, 
remarked  abruptly  to  a  few  of  the  seniors 


who  were  then  conversing  with  him : 
'  Columba  Coilrigin,  the  blacksmith,  has 
not  laboured  in  vain,  for  even  out  of  the 
very  labour  of  his  hands  he  has  obtained, 
by  happy  purchase,  an  eternal  reward. 
Just  now  I  see  his  soul  being  carried  by 
holy  angels  to  the  joys  of  the  heavenly 
country ;  for  whatever  he  was  able  to 
spare  from  the  means  acquired  by  the 
business  of  his  craft,  he  spent  upon  alms 
for  the  poor." 


FLASHES    FROM   THE    TABERNACLE. 


SAINT      ORAN'S      chapel     was 
never   closed.     Day  and   night 
its  doors  remained  open  for  the 
monks     to     enter     when     they 
wished.       As     Columba     grew 
older  his  love  for  the  altar  grew  warmer 
still,  and  God  was  pleased  to  show  the 
monks  what  worth  He  attached  to  these 
voluntary  visits.     One  night  a  young  man 
named   Virgno,    not   yet  a   priest,    stole 
softly  down  from  his  cell,  and,  lest  he 
should  be  caught  at  his  devotions,  hid 
himself  in   a   hoarded-off   recess   in   the 
church.     He  had  prayed  about  an  hour, 
when    he    heard    footsteps    approaching. 
It  was  Columba  coming  to  pay  a  secret 
visit  to  His  Master.     All  at  once,  as  he 
prostrated  himself  before  the  altar,  a  bril 


liant  light  filled  the  church,  and  COH- 
tinued  till  he  feebly  rose  and  left.  On 
the  morrow  he  called  to  him  Virgno,  of 
whom  likely  he  had  caught  sight  as  he  re 
tired,  and  bade  him  not  mention  what  he 
had  seen  during  his  (Columba's)  life. 
Another  night  a  monk  named  Colga, 
slipped  down  to  the  church  and  found  it, 
to  his  amazement,  brightly  irradiated,  "  for 
Columba,  as  he  afterwards  learned,  was 
praying  within."  Instances  like  these 
were,  no  doubt,  only  intended  by  God  to 
stamp  the  Saint's  adoration  with  His  ap 
proval,  and  hold  it  up  for  imitation.  One 
grand  fact  stands  out  in  bold  relief  amidst 
all  this  celestial  light — Columba  kept  his 
church  open  day  and  night  for  visits  to 
the  Blessed  Sacrament. 


67 


THE   APPROACH    OF    DEATH. 


OSIE  day,  in  593,  Columba  told 
Diarmid  that  to  his  great  joy 
God  was  about  to  call  him  from 
the  world,  but  had  been  pre 
vented  by  the  prayers  of  the 
brethren  from  doing  so  for  four  years 


diet.  He  happened,  ill  one  of  his  mis 
sionary  journeys  to  meet  an  old  woman 
who  had  no  food  but  boiled  nettles  and  was 
yet  satisfied,  because  her  only  cow  wculd 
soon  give  her  milk  again.  "  If,"  said  Col 
umba,  "  she  can  put  up  with  that,  coupled 


SAINT    COLUMBA    WRITING    HIS    LAST    PSALM,    SATURDAY,    JUNE    Q,  597. 


longer.  The  delay  saddened  him,  but  he 
resigned  himself  to  the  Divine  Will, 
and  redoubled  his  prayers  and  pen 
ances. 


with  the  anticipation  of  some  milk  in  the 
future,  I  can  do  the  same,  in  the  hope  and 
expectation  of  heaven."  Nothing  that 
Diarmid  could  urge  would  make  him  relax 


He  had  always  been  very  frugal  in  his      or  change. 


[     68     j 


LOVE    FOR   ALL   THINGS    IRISH." 


H[S    love    for    nature    in    all    her 
varied  moods   was   unbounded, 
and    a    short    time    before    his 
death  was  illustrated  in  a  ^«rv 
pretty  way,  which  his  grave  bio 
grapher,  Adamnan,  thinks  it  may  be  in 
teresting  to  relate.     "  Go,"  he  said  to  one 
of  his  monks,  "  to  the  western  shore,  and 
in  a  few  days   a  crane,  all  draggled   and 
worn  by  the  storm,  will  be  dashed  on  the 
sands.     Tend  it  carefully  and  kindly,  for 
it  comes  from  my  native  place." 

In  one  of  the  old  lives  of  the  saint, 
quoted  in  the  Book  of  Lismore,  we  read 
that  on  the  day  before  his  death  he  gave 
special  instructions  about  the  distribution 
of  his  treasured  relics  and  articles  of  de 
votion,  a  cross  here  and  a  book  there ;  but 

"  My  soul  to  Derry." 

In  no  ordinary  sense  then  may  the  people 
of  Derry  claim  that  the  spirit  of  Columba 
hovers  over  their  city  and  often  revisits 
their  church.  He  has  left  it  on  record 


that  had  he  his  choice  of  any  spot  in  the 
British  Isles  on  which  to  dwell,  he  would 
prefer  "  one  little  cell  in  the  midst  of  fair 
Derry."  His  heart,  O'Donnell  tells  us 
(Vita  Quinta,  L.ii.)  was  chained  to  Derry 
by  the  recollection  of  the  very  frequent 
visions  he  had  of  the  angels  who  guarded 
the  altar  there.  Derry  was  the  first  monas 
tery  he  founded  in  Ireland;  it  continued 
to  be  all  through  life  the  beloved  of  his 
thoughts.  On  the  slightest  reference  to 
it  the  passionate  yearning  of  his  soul  found 
vent  in  tenderest  expressions;  he  turned 
mechanically  towards  its  horizon;  tears 
gleamed  in  his  eyes  and  his  hand  instinc 
tively  rose  to  bless. 

What  he  loved  on  earth  he  continues  to 
cherish  in  heaven.  The  earthly  affections 
of  saints  are  not  dropped  above,  but 
simply  purified  from  human  dross,  and 
made  to  radiate  with  greater  brilliance  and 
more  warmth. 


69 


LAST   SATURDAY    ON    EARTH. 


ON  the  morning  of  his  death  he 
took  Diarmid  with  him  to  visit 
the  various  farmsteads  of  the 
island.  He  blessed  the  grana- 
aries  and  the  cattle,  and  return 
ing,  sat  down,  wearied,  by  the  cross  which 


The  old  white  horse  which  carried  the 
milk  from  the  farms  to  the  monastery  came 
up  whinnying  and  crying  and  nestled  its 
head  in  the  saint's  breast. 

Diarmid  tried  to  drive  it  away.     "  Let  it 
alone,"  said  the  saint.     "  It  takes  its  fare- 


Valentine,}  ..       [Dundee. 

CROSS,    MISNAMED    McCLEAN's,    WHERE    THE    PATHETIC    INCIDENT    OF  ^H 
WHITE    HORSE    TOOK    PLACE. 


still  stands  on  the  path  leading  to  the 
ruins,  and  is  vulgarly  known  as  McClean's. 
Then  occurred  a  most  touching  incident. 


well  of  me,  for  behold  God  has  revealed  to 
its  instinct  what  He  has  withheld  from 
your  reason,  that  I  am  to  die  to-night." 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


"  This  name"  (McClean's  cross),  Gor 
don  remarks,  "  is  a  vulgar  misnomer. 
Archaeologists  date  the  present  cross  as  far 
back  as  the  6th  century.  It  is  eleven  feet 
high,  but  only  three  inches  thick.  It  is 
elaborately  carved.  On  the  front  side, 
within  the  circle,  is  Our  Lord's  crucifixion. 


Continuing  on  his  way  from  the  cross 
he  ascended  the  rock  still  known  as  the 
"  Abbot's  Mound,"  gave  his  last  blessing 
to  the  monastery,  and  then  uttered  the 
prophecy  thus  registered  by  Adamnan, 
and  still  in  course  of  fulfilment,  after  thir 
teen  centuries — "  Small  and  low  though 


DEATH    OF    SAINT    COLUMBA. 
(Drawn  bv  D.  Conrov,  Dfrrv.) 


The  figure  is  clothed  in  a  dalmatic  and  girt 
with  a  girdle.  Two  angels  are  receiving 
in  vessels  the  Precious  Blood  and  water,  as 
emblematic  of  the  twin  sacraments,  Bap 
tism  and  the  Eucharist."  We  reproduce 
a  photograph  of  this  very  interesting  cross. 


this  place  is,  yet  it  shall  be  held  in  great 
honour  not  only  by  the  Scottish  (Irish) 
kings  and  people,  but  also  by  foreign 
chiefs  and  remote  nations;  and  even  the 
saints  of  other  lands  shall  regard  it  with 
no  common  reverence." 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


He  then  returned  to  his  cell  and  re 
sumed  his  copying  of  the  Psalter.  He  was 
engaged  at  the  23rd  Psalm,  and  when  he 
had  got  to  the  words,  "  They  that  seek  the 
Lord  shall  want  nothing  that  is  good,"  he 
stopped  and  said,  "  Let  Baithen  write  the 
rest."  Baithen  was  his  successor  in  the 
abbacy,  and  Adamnan  points  out  how  ap 
propriate  were  the  words  which  followed. 
"  Come,  children,  hearken  unto  me,  I  will 
teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord." 

He  then  went  down  to  pray  in  the 
church,  and  afterwards  returned  to  his 
cell,  where,  sitting,  on  the  stone  which 
served  him  for  a  pillow  (and  is  now  in  a 
case  in  the  east  end  of  the  nave,  lona),  he 
spoke  to  each  of  his  monks,  and  when 
they  had  all  retired  to  rest  he  remained  in 
silence  until  the  bell  sounded  for  midnight 
office,  when  he  crept  down  to  the  church, 
and  was  the  first  to  enter.  He  went  up 
close  to  the  altar,  still  even  in  his  dying 
hour,  verifying  his  name,  "  Dove  of  the 
Church."  Diarmid  came  in  groping  in  the 
dark  and  crying,  "  Father,  where  are  you  ?" 
The  feeble  voice  replied.  Monks  came 
crowding  in  with  their  lights.  "  Raise  my 
hand,"  he  cried,  "  that  I  may  bless  them. 
Higher  still,  that  I  may  bless  the  land  of 
Erin  and  all  I  love  there,  my  oak  groves 
and  children." 

And  thus,  on  the  morning  of  Pentecost 
Sunday,  the  pth  of  June,  597 — exactly  34 
years  after  he  had  landed  in  lona — Col- 
umba's  pure  spirit  winged  its  flight  like 
the  dove  to  the  skies  above,  whence  we 
may  fondly  believe  that  grey  eye  which 
ever  turned  so  wistfully  from  the  hills  of 
Caledonia  to  the  distant  shores  of  Ireland 
is  now  looking  down  upon  us. 

Saint  Adamnan  tells  us  that  just  before 
his  last  breath  he  opened  wide  his  eyes 
and  turned  them  from  side  to  side 
with  a  most  joyful  look  of  recog 
nition.  It  was  the  angels,  his  whilom 
companions  in  the  church,  whom  he  saw ; 


and  so  wonderfully  gladdened  was  ne  by 
this  vision,  that  even  after  death  the  smile 
did  not  leave  his  countenance,  but  his 
face  remained  fresh  and  ruddy,  so  that  he 
seemed  rather  living  than  dead. 

The  monks  went  on  with  the  office,  and 
at  its  close  brought  the  saint's  remains 
bade  to  his  cell,  whence,  when  all  haJ 
been  made  ready  for  the  obsequies,  hey 
bore  them  again  to  the  chapel.  For  three 
days  the  requiem  service  went  on.  A 
fierce  storm  was  raging  at  the  time,  so 
that,  though  vast  crowds  had  assembled 
on  the  mainland,  anxious  to  attend  the 
funeral,  none  were  able  to  cross  the 
Sound,  and  the  monks  of  lona  alone 
gathered  round  the  closing  grave. 

This  was  as  Columba  had  foretold,  for, 
when,  one  day  one  of  the  monks  re 
marked  :  "  What  a  crowd  will  be  at  your 
funeral,  Father,''  he  replied,  "  Nay,  not 
one  but  yourselves  will  be  there,  for  so  I 
have  asked  the  Lord."  It  was  as  he  fore 
told,  and  straightway  that  the  last  sod 
was  laid  upon  the  grave  the  storm  sud 
denly  ceased. 

That  night  (June  8)  two  men  were  fish 
ing  in  the  Finn,  Adamnan's  native  valley  ; 
all  at  once,  just  after  the  midnight  hour, 
they  saw  a  bright  column  of  fire  dart  up 
from  one  of  the  distant  hills  and  ascend 
in  golden  radiance  till  it  seemed  to  min 
gle  with  the  clouds  and  brighten  the  whole 
landscape.  Then,  too,  the  air  quivered 
with  a  rustling  motion,  and  glad,  sweet 
music  seemed  to  thrill  the  whole  atmos 
phere.  It  was  the  angels  rejoicing  and 
singing  their  "Gloria"  anent  the  heavenly 
birth  of  Columba.  So  says  Adamnan, 
who  heard  the  story  when  a  young  lad  in 
his  mother's  home  from  the  aged  fisher 
man  who  had  been  privileged  to  hear  and 
see.  Other  stories  of  angelic  joy  making 
itself  sensible  to  human  eyes  and  ears 
that  night  are  recorded. 


S4IXT   COLUMBA. 


SAINT    COLUMBA    DIED    PENTECOST    SUNDAY,    JUNE    QTH,    597. 


He  died,  as  became  the  "  Dove  of  the 
Church"  and  "the  Saint  of  the  Eucharist," 
on  the  altar  step. 


Pray  or  us,  Saint  Columba. 
That  we  may  be  made  worthy  of  the  promises 
of  Christ. 


LET    US    PRAY- 

O  God.  who  didst  vouchsafe  to  unveil  to  Thy 
servant,  St.  Columba,  the  angels  who  guard  Thy 
Tabernacle,  grant  that  we,  who  honour  his 
memory,  may  through  his  intercession  be  enabled 
to  lead  such  lives  of  purity  and  holiness  as  will 
one  day  entitle  us  to  behold  those  same  angels 
in  the  mansions  of  bliss,  through  Christ,  our 
Lord.  Amen 


74 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Down  churchyard  claims  to  have  been 
once  the  grave  of  the  saints,  but  we  know 
to  the  contrary.  We  give  above  a  view 
of  the  cathedral,  now  in  Protestant  hands, 
which,  at  least,  occupies  the  site  of  the 
one  where  Malachy  found  them  in  1185. 
They  may  be  still  within  its  precincts,  but 
no  matter  where  their  dust  may  lie,  their 
eyes  are  upon  us  from  heaven  to-day,  and 
their  hands  stretched  out  to  help  us  in  all 
our  needs. 

In  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  Dublin, 
Columba's  crosier,  or  rather  part  of  it, 
may  be  seen.  There  also  is  the 
"Cathach,"  or  "Battle  Book"  of  the 
O  Donnells,  in  whose  58  pages  we  may 
still  discern  the  neat,  nervous  handwrit 
ing  of  Columba  himself.  In  Saint  Col 


umba's  College,  Rathfarnham  (Protestant) 
we  may  see  the  case  that  once  contained 
Clonmany's  treasured  relic  of  the  saint, 
the  "  Misach,''  which  the  keepers,  a 
family  named  Morrison,  sold.  The 
Books  of  Kells  and  of  Durrow  are  in 
Trinity  College,  where  they  passed  with 
the  library  of  Usher.  All  other  relics 
have  disappeared — we  cannot  say  lost, 
for  it  was  only  in  1845  that  Dr.  Keller 
discovered  in  Schaffhausen  the  priceless 
MSS.  of  Adamnan,  from  which  we  have 
derived  so  much  knowledge  of  our  saint. 
If  such  an  unlikely  and  out-of-the-way 
place  as  Schaffhausen,  in  Switzerland, 
gave  back  such  a  treasure,  we  need  not 
wholly  despair  of  finding  still  further 
relics  of  him  yet. 


INITIAL,    "BOOK    OF    DURROW. 


[     75 


SAINT  EUGENE. 


WE   know    very    little    about 
Saint     Eugene,    or     Saint 
Owen  (Eoghan),  as  he  is 
called    by     the    annalists. 
He  was  born  in  the  latter 
half    of    the    fifth    century,    but    where 
we     have      no     means     of      discovering. 
His     father     was     one      Canice,     from 
Leinster;   his  mother,  Muindecha,  or,  as 


and  Saint  Tigernach  of  Clones,  etc.  After 
some  years  he  was  again  enslaved,  along 
with  Corpreus  and  Tigernach,  or  Tierney, 
as  his  name  is  pronounced.  They  were 
sold  to  a  man  in  Britanny,  who  was  so 
impressed  by  their  love  of  study  and  quiet 
piety  that  he  released  and  sent  them 
back  to  Rosnat,  where  in  due  course  they 
were  ordained  priests.  After  a  while  we 


SAINT    EUGENE  S    CATHEDRAL,    DERRY. 


the  name  is  more  simply  and  prettily 
written,  Una,  from  the  district  of  the 
Mourne,  in  the  county  of  Tyrone.  It  is 
said  that  Saint  Brigid  was  his  godmother. 
When  quite  a  young  lad  we  find  him  a 
slave  in  Wales,  where  he  was  lucky 
enough  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  Abbot 
of  Rosnat,  or  Whitethorn.  He  procured 
Eugene's  freedom,  and  brought  him  to 
the  monastery  school,  where  he  had 
amongst  his  companions  such  Saints  as 
Saint  Corpreus  of  Coleraine  (Co.  Derry), 


find  them  back  once  more  in  Ireland. 
Eugene  settled  in  Leinster  amongst  his 
father's  relatives.  For  fifteen  years  he 
was  Abbot  of  Kilnamanagh,  in  Wicklow. 
The  only  fact  we  can  gather  about  his 
abbacy  is  that  he  educated  Saint  Kevin, 
his  cousin's  child,  from  the  age  of  twelve. 
As  age  grew  on  him  he  felt  a  great  long 
ing  to  visit  his  mother's  country.  His 
friend  Tierney  was  already  settled  in 
Clones  since  506 — Corpreus  was  abbot  of 
a  monastery  in  Coleraine.  "  So,"  says 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


the  author  of  the  "Loca  Patriciana,"  page 
257,  "Eugene,  after  fifteen  years  in  Kilna- 
managh,  went  '  to  his  mother's  country' 
and  founded  the  church  of  Ardstraw,  on 


Of  his  life  in  Ardstraw  we  know  very 
little.  One  day  in  one  of  those  unfor 
tunate  broils,  or  petty  wars,  that  disgraced 
and  ensanguined  our  land,  Lugaid,  grand- 


INTERIOR,    SAINT    EUGENE'S    CATHEDRAL,    DERRY. 


the  banks  of  the  river  Derg,  near  its 
meeting  with  the  Mourne,  in  Tyrone. 
Saint  Kevin  went  also,  it  is  most  pro 
bable,  with  him  to  Ardstraw." 


son  of  Conal  Gulban,  happened  to  slay 
one  of  Eugene's  monks,  or  retainers.  The 
latter  was  very  wroth  and  predicted 
terrible  woes.  Lugaid  did,  indeed,  die  very 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


77 


soon — within  a  day  or  two.  His  father, 
Sedna,  thereupon  came  to  Eugene  and 
besought  his  prayer  to  the  Almighty  for 
remission  of  the  curse.  Saint  Eugene 
said  that  God  had  been  pleased  to  do  so, 
because  of  the  child  who  was  yet  to  be 
born,  collaterally  from  Sedna's  stock,  and 
who  would  win  many  souls  to  heaven,  and 
reflect  much  glory  on  God.  Thenceforth 
Sedna,  and  his  family  after  him,  paid 
triennial  tribute  to  Ardstraw.  This  in 
cident  related  in  the  Leabhar  Breac  and 
other  ancient  chronicles  is  useful  as  indi 
cating  that  Saint  Eugene  was  already  ad 
vanced  in  life  before  Columba  was  born. 
He  seems  to  have  been  yet  living  in  540, 
but  muot  have  been  a  very  old  man,  if  still 
alive,  when  Columba  founded  Derry  in 


546.  His  schoolfellow,  Saint  Tierney, 
died  in  544.  The  Bishop  Eoghan  of 
Rathsee,  whose  death  is  recorded  in  the 
annals  of  Ulster,  under  the  date  of  617, 
seems  to  have  been  quite  a  different  per 
son.  If  Saint  Eugene  visited  Derry  at  all 
during  Columba's  time  he  must  have  said 
Mass  in  the  Abbey  church. 

He  died  on  the  evening  of  the  23rd  of 
August  while  his  monks  were  chanting 
their  evening  office,  and  is  buried  some 
where  in  Ardstraw  graveyard.  We  know 
not  what  the  distinguishing  virtue  of  his 
life  was,  but  of  the  efficacy  of  his  inter 
cession,  we,  in  Derry,  who  have  local 
claims  upon  him,  need  have  no  doubt, 
and  should  indeed  avail  far  oftener 
of  it. 


SAINT    EUGENE  S    CATHEDRAL    SCHOOLS,    DERRY. 


SAINT    EUGENE'S   CATHEDRAL. 


SAINT      EUGENE'S      CATHE 
DRAL  is  situated  in  the  "  gort," 
or   six  acre  garden,   which  be 
longed     to     the     Franciscans, 
whose  abbey  has  given  its  name 
to  the  little  street,  off  the  Bog,  known  as 
Abbey  Street.     Of  that  abbey  nothing  be 
yond  the  fact  of  its  existence  is  known. 
A   cemetery  was   attached   to   it,   which 


born.  He  was  unquestionably  connected 
at  one  period  with  the  branch  monastery, 
(or  was  it  only  chapel-of-ease  ?)  which 
Saint  Columba  had  at  Ballymagroarty,  a 
few  miles  beyond  the  present  Cathe- 
dial. 

The  collection  for  the  Cathedral  com 
menced  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  girls' 
schoolroom,     Long     Tower,     in     1838. 


THE    BISHOP'S    HOUS  E. 


dwelling-houses  have  now  completely  ob 
literated.  Some  time  towards  the  end  of 
the  last  century  an  immense  number  of 
human  bones  were  exhumed,  and,  to  the 
quantity  of  seven  cartloads,  conveyed  to 
the  Long  Tower  yard,  there  to  be  de 
posited  once  more  in  blessed  ground. 

Besides  being  in  the  Franciscan  gort, 
the  Cathedral  is  also  in  the  townland  of 
Creggan,  which  was  churchland  belong 
ing  to  the  "  monastery  of  Columbkille," 
and  from  which,  some  say,  Saint  Columb 
Crag,  who  died  at  Enagh  Lough  on  Sep 
tember  22nd,  and  is  there  buried,  derived 
his  name,  and  where,  perhaps,  he  was 


Thirteen  years  later,  on  Saturday,  July 
26th,  1851,  the  foundation-stone  was  laid 
by  Dr.  Kelly.  On  the  next  day,  Sunday, 
the  27th,  the  famous  Dr.  Cahill  preached 
in  the  Long  Tower  the  "  Foundation 
Sermon,"  when  £220  was  realised.  Dr. 
Cahill  afterwards  gave  a  series  of  histo 
rical  and  scientific  lectures  in  the  city. 
The  building  slowly  dragged  along,  cost 
ing,  with  the  Bishop's  house,  etc.,  about 
,£40,000,  until  May  4th,  1873,  when  it 
was  solemnly  dedicated.  On  that  occa 
sion  Dr.  Lynch,  Coadjutor-bishop  of  Kil- 
dare,  preached  at  Mass,  and  Dr.  Conroy, 
Bishop  of  Ardagh,  preached  at  Vespers. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


79 


A  bazaar  was  subsequently  held  in  the 
Town  Hall,  at  which,  owing  chiefly  to 
the  exertions  of  the  secretary,  Miss 
Roddy  (R.I. P.),  a  sum  of  ^1,800  was 
realised  for  the  purchase  of  a  chime  of 
bells. 

The  windows  have  lately  been  filled 
with  stained  glass  by  Mayer,  and  Dr. 
O'Doherty  intends  to  have  the  sacred 
edifice  ready  for  consecration  within  a  few 
years.  A  meeting  was  held  in  Saint 
Columba's  Hall  on  April  4th,  1899,  at 


In  the  vaults  underneath  the  Cathedral 
Dr.  Kelly  lies  buried.  Born  in  Drum- 
ragh,  near  Omagh,  he  was  ordained  in 
June,  1840,  and  was,  in  1849  (April  19), 
at  the  age  of  thirty-six,  appointed  Bishop 
of  Titopoli,  and  Coadjutor  of  Derry.  He 
was  consecrated  in  the  Long  Tower  on 
October  the  3ist,  1849,  by  the  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  M'Hale,  the  "  Lion  of  Saint  Jar- 
lath's."  He  took  part  in  the  Vatican 
Council  in  1870,  and  a  wiser  or  more 
priestly  bishop  was  not  in  the  transept  of 


-?** 


THE    MOST    REV.    DR.    KELLY. 


which  some  ^2,000  was  subscribed  for 
the  purpose,  and  a  weekly  collection  has 
also  been  started  in  the  city,  to  which  a 
generous  contribution  is  being  made,  and 
which  will  soon  enable  work  to  be  com 
menced.  It  is  purposed  to  alter  and  im 
prove  the  surroundings  of  the  Cathedral 
by  a  new  entrance  from  William  Street, 
and  another  from  Great  James's  Street ; 
also  to  complete  the  tower,  add  a  spire, 
and  generally  to  finish  and  embellish  the 
structure,  which  is  certainly  an  ornament 
to  the  city. 


Saint  Peter's  in  those  days.  He  died 
literally  in  harness,  for  he  was,  though 
76  years  old,  actually  engaged  adminis 
tering  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  in 
Moville  when  the  last  illness  seized 
him.  He  had  to  desist  in  the 
middle  of  the  ceremony,  and  return  to 
Derry  whence,  on  Sunday,  September  ist, 
1889,  he  went  to  receive  in  heaven  the 
reward  of  his  long  and  useful  episcopate. 
A  mural  tablet  within  the  sanctuary,  and 
the  beautiful  stained-glass  window  above 
the  High  Altar  perpetuate  his  memory. 


8o 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


The  Cathedral  schools  were  built  in 
1854,  and  in  1897  they  were  advantage 
ously  re-modelled  and  enlarged  by  Father 
Hassan.  They  are  under  the  care  of  the 


means  of  which,  during  religious  instruc 
tion  on  First  Fridays,  the  pious  ladies  in 
charge  endeavour  to  lead  their  children  to 
a  warmer  and  more  practical  love  of  the 


INT  EUGENE'S     CHOOLS,  ROSEMOONT. 


Sisters  of  Mercy.  Saint  Eugene's  Schools, 
Rosemount,  were  built  by  Father  John 
Doherty,  and  were  opened  on  April  2oth, 
1891.  They  have  since  been  enlarged  by 


Divine  Heart.  These  are  object  lessons 
that  will  not  pass  with  the  school  day, 
and  whose  usefulness  even  the  grave  can 
not  bound.  It  is,  to  us,  often  a  cause  of 


SAINT    EUGENE'S    SCHOOLS,    ROSEMOUNT. 


Father  Hassan.  We  give  below  a  glimpse 
of  the  interior  and  exterior  of  the  girls' 
school,  and  are  pleased  to  note  that  our 
camera  has  caught  a  view  of  the  tem 
porary  alta;  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  by 


wonder  why  managers  of  Catholic  schools 
do  not  oftener  avail  of  the  Board's  per 
mission  to  display  in  the  schoolrooms  at 
all  hours  of  the  day  good  pictures  illus 
trative  of  Our  Lord's  life. 


MOST    REV.    DR.    O'DOHERTY,"  BISHOP    OK    DERRY. 


8i     ] 


SAINT    EUGENE'S    SUCCESSOR. 
THE  MOST  REV.  JOHN  KEYS  O'DOHERTY,   D.D. 


OUR   sketch   of   Saint   Eugene's 
would  be  incomplete  without 
some  reference  to  the  present 
occupant  of  the  See,  which 
we    borrow    mainly    from    a 
sketch  in  the  "  Deny  Journal,"  April  5th, 
1899. 

The  Most  Rev.  Dr.  O'Doherty  was 
born  on  September  25th,  1833,  at  Ter- 
monbacca,  some  two  miles  from  the  City 
of  Derry.  Educated  at  first  at  the  neigh 
bouring  schools  of  Molenan  and  Carri- 
gans,  he  subsequently  attended  the 
seminary  carried  on  by  Dr.  Maginn,  in 
Pump  Street,  and,  later  on,  at  the  Brow 
of  the  Hill. 

In  this  school  he  began  his  classics, 
which  after  its  discontinuance,  he  pursued 
in  the  private  school  of  Mr.  Samuel 
McQuilkin,  of  Derry,  from  whom  he 
passed  to  the  school  of  Mr.  Campbell,  an 
eminent  classical  teacher,  in  Clonmany. 
He  entered  Maynooth  in  1855,  and  at  the 
end  of  his  course  was  promoted  to  the 
Dunboyne.  He  was  ordained  on  August 
4th,  1 86 1,  by  the  late  Dr.  Kelly,  in  the 
Long  Tower  Church  (where  he  had  also 
been  confirmed,  and  made  his  First  Com 
munion).  He  was  after  his  ordination 
appointed  C.C.  of  Carndonagh,  and 
fifteen  months  subsequently  of  Malin, 
whence,  after  a  mission  of  about  three 
years  he  was  transferred,  as  administrator, 
to  Newtownstewart,  Co.  Tyrone,  where 
he  remained  till  his  appointment  to  the 
bishopric  in  1890. 

The  election  of  a  successor  to  the  late 
esteemed  bishop,  Dr.  Kelly,  took  place 
in  the  Cathedral  on  October  2nd,  1889, 
and  resulted  in  Dr.  O'Doherty's  name 
being  returned  to  the  Bishops  of  the  Pro 
vince  as  "  Dignissimus."  The  Bulls  for 


his  consecration  were  issued  by  the  Holy 
See  on  the  28th  December,  1889,  and  he 
was  consecrated  in  Saint  Eugene's  on  the 
2nd  of  March,  1890,  by  Dr.  (now  Car 
dinal)  Logue ;  the  assistant  prelates  being 
Dr.  Nulty,  of  Meath ;  and  Dr.  Donnelly, 
of  Clogher.  Dr.  O'Donnell,  the  popular 
and  eloquent  young  Bishop  of  Raphoe, 
preached  on  the  occasion.  The  other 
prelates  present  were :  Drs.  McAlister 
(Down  and  Connor),  Woodlock  (Ardagh), 
McGivern  (Dromore),  and  Magennis  (Kil- 
more). 

Over  the  events  of  Dr.  O'Doherty's 
zealous  episcopate  we  need  not  linger. 
The  photograms  of  the  many  useful  and 
noble  buildings  erected  in  the  city  since 
1890  tell  more  forcibly  than  we  can  what 
progress  Catholicity  is  making,  and  how 
busy  Dr.  O'Doherty's  years  have  been 
since  his  consecration. 

Besides  his  many  brilliant  qualities  as 
an  ecclesiastic,  he  is  also  an  eminent  anti 
quarian  and  historian.  He  has  besides 
published  some  verses  of  very  great  excel 
lence,  some  of  which  we  have  taken  the 
liberty  of  republishing. 

Dr.  O'Doherty  was  the  first  prelate  con 
secrated  in  Saint  Eugene's  Cathedral.  He 
was  also  the  first  native,  as  far  as  is 
known,  of  the  parish  of  Templemore 
elevated  to  the  See  of  Derry.  He  is 
certainly  the  first  for  at  least  three  cen 
turies,  since  Eugene  O'Doherty  (1554- 
1569),  who  has  been  consecrated  and  en 
throned  as  Bishop  of  Derry  in  Derry. 
His  predecessors  during  that  long  period 
were  either  consecrated  abroad,  translated 
from  other  sees,  or  consecrated  in  Derry 
as  coadjutors  under  another  title  than  that 
of  Derry. 


SAINT   PATRICK'S   VISIT  TO  THE   NEIGHBOURHOOD 

OF  DERRY. 


WE  read  in  the  ancient  lives 
of     Saint     Patrick,     that 
King  Leary,  before  whom 
he  appeared  at  Tara,  had 
three    brothers    living  in 
the  north-west  of  Ireland,  Carbre,  Conal, 
Gulban,  and  Eoghan. 

Conal  was  at   Tara  when,   on  Easter 


very  unfriendly.  Saint  Patrick  turned 
slightly  aside  and  after  preaching  in  Tir- 
Hugh  came  through  Barnesmore  Gap, 
down  the  valley  of  the  Finn,  where  he 
founded,  on  his  passage,  the  church  of 
Donoughmore.  (Donough  is  derived  from 
Dominica,  the  Lord's  Day,  and  wherever 
the  name  Donough  or  Donoughmore 


SAINT    PATRICK. 


morning,  Patrick  preached  and  converted 
so  many.  He  had  some  land  in  Meath, 
which  he  gave  the  Saint,  who  built  on  it 
the  church  of  Donough-Patrick.  He  also 
invited  him  to  Tyrconnel.  Patrick  some 
years  after  fulfilled  his  promise,  but  at  the 
Erne,  near  Assaroe,  he  met  Carbre,  who 
had  not  yet  been  converted,  and  who  was 


is  met  it  signifies  a  church  founded 
by  Patrick  on  a  Sunday.)  But  to 
resume,  Conal  hastened  to  meet  the 
Saint,  bringing  with  him  his  two  sons.  It 
was  in  the  parish  of  Clonleigh,  near  Bal- 
lindrait  that  they  met.  Saint  Patrick  ran 
forward  to  bless  and  salute  the  young  Fer 
gus,  whereat  the  other  son  of  Conal. 


SAINT  COLUMBA*t 


called  Conal  also,  was  piqued.  Saint 
Patrick  explained  that  a  great  saint  would 
be  born  of  Fergus'  line,  and  he  had  in 
prophetic  anticipation  saluted  him  first. 
Fergus,  as  a  matter-of-fact,  became  the 
grandfather  of  Saint  Columba.  To  solace 
Conal,  however,  Saint  Patrick  took  his 
shield,  and  marked  it  with  a  cross,  as  a 
token  that  he  and  his  should  defend  the 
faith. 

After  some  delay,  Saint  Patrick  con 
tinued  his  journey  towards  Aileach,  where 
Eoghan,  or  Owen,  the  brother  of  Conal 
and  of  Leary  dwelt.  From  him  Innis- 
howen,  the  island  of  Owen,  and  Tir-Owen, 


that  over  the  baptistery.  The  Saint  then 
blessed  the  "  Inauguration  Stone,"  on 
which  the  chieftains  were  to  be  installed. 
Dr.  O'Donovan  says  that  stone  is  now  at 
Belmont,  and  that  Saint  Columba's  name 
is  erroneously  attached  to  it.  He  is  likely 
correct,  though  as  it  weighs  over  eight 
tons,  it  looks  a  very  big  stone  to  have 
been  dragged  all  the  way  from  Aileach  to 
Belmont. 

Saint  Patrick  then  crossed  the  Foyle  at 
Culmore  and  founded  seven  churches  in 
the  valley  of-  the  Faughan.  The  first  was 
at  E'nagh  Lough,  'and  the  seventh,  the 
most  remote,  was  in  the  Sperrin  Moun- 


INAUGURATION    STONE    BLESSED    BY    SAINT    PATRICK    AT 
AILEACH,    NOW    AT    BELMONT,    DERRY. 


derive  their  names.  Aileach  lies  a  few 
miles  from  Derry.  The  summit  of  the 
hill  is  still  crowned  with  a  circular  ram 
part  of  stone,  repaired,  or  rather  restored 
in  a  most  praiseworthy  manner  by  Dr. 
Bernard,  of  Derry.  Into  the  history  or 
purposes  of  the  Grianan  of  Aileach  I  need 
not  enter.  It  has  no  interest  for  us  be 
yond  what  Saint  Patrick's  visit  and  the 
later  penal  day  masses  celebrated  within 
its  enclosure  attach  to  it.  Eoghan  was 
not  yet  baptized.  Saint  Patrick  baptized 
him  and  all  his  family  and  retainers.  The 
baptism  forms  the  subject  of  one  of  the 
stained-glass  windows  in  Saint  Eugene's  ; 


tains,  near  Cranagh,  Co.  Tyrone,  ,,nere 
the  Faughan  rises.  He  returned  down 
the  valley  again,  recrossed  the  Foyle  and 
went  through  Eskaheen  where  he  founded 
a  church,  to  Carndonagh,  where  he  made 
Saint  Macartin  bishop;  after  which  he 
proceeded  to  Moville,  most  likely  found 
ing  a  church  at  Cooley ;  and  thence 
crossed  to  Magilligan,  where  he  continued 
his  work  of  apostleship  and  church-build 
ing. 

From  this  it  does  not  appear  that  Saint 
Patrick  came  actually  into  the  island  of 
Derry.  Probably  there  were  but  few,  if 
any,  people  then  living  in  it. 


84 


SAINT  PATRICK'S   VISIT  TO  SILEACH. 

BY  THE  MOST  REV.  DR.  O'DOHERTY. 

["Patrick  then  went  to  Aileach  of  the  Kings,  where  he  blessed  the  fort  and  left  his  flag  (stone)  there  ;  and 
prophesied  that  kingship  and  pre-eminence'should  be  over  Erin  from  Aileach ;   '  When  you  lift  your  foot  to  approai 
it  (i.r.,  the  flagstone),  the  men  of  Erin  shall  tremble  before  you.'     He  then  baptized  Eoghan  and  his  grandson  Eoch 
and  blessed  the  whole  island  of  Eoghan,  from  Belach-ratha  (now  Knockrath,  in  Malin)  to  Aileach."  —  Tripartite  Li 


of  St.  Patrick.} 

I. 
WHEN    Aileach's    royal    palace    crowned    fair 

Grianan's  heath-clad  height, 
And  warders  on  its  battlements  kept  guard  both 

day  and  night : 
When  hosts  were  led  to  scenes  o   war  by  Niall's 

ancient  race, 

Who  held  alone   by  force  of  arms  their  king 
ship  in  the  place, 
Prince  Eoghan,  through  many  conquests   dire 

attained  at  length  the  throne, 
And  stamped  his  name  for  ever  on  the  realms 

he  called  his  own  ; 
By  his  strong  arm  each  foe  was  crushed,  when 

victory  greater  still 
He   gained,    by   bowing  to  the  cross   his  own 

fierce  stubborn  will. 
The  haughty  king,  by  grace  subdued,  to  Patrick 

bent  the  knee 
And   blessing    craved   for   Innis-Eoghain    girt 

round  by  lake  and  sea. 


From  the  Grianan  gazed  the  saint  o'er  all  that 

glorious  scene 
Of  mountain  brown,  of  valley  deep,  of  river  and 

ravine, 
He  looked  on  Feval's  x  spacious  lake,  on  Suil- 

each's  2  shadowy  tide, 
On  fair  Tir-Connell,   green   Tir-Eoghain   that 

stretched  to  Banna's  side 
Magh-Ith's  broad  plain  before  him  lay  in  all  its 

golden  sheen. 
Of  emerald  meads,  of  winding  streams  and  oak 

groves  darkly  green  ; 
At   every   glance  new  beauties  rose  before  his 

wondering  eye 
And  raised  his  thoughts  from  joys  that  fade  to 

those  that  never  die, 
"  If  on   thy  footstool  "  cried  the  saint,   "  such 

lustre  Thou'st  bestown 
What  must  the  glories  be,  O  Lord,  that  shine 

around  Thy  throne  !  " 


"  I  bless  thy  land  and  race,  good  king,  I  bless 

thy  royal  heirs, 
Famed   for   all   time,  shall   be    the   name  thy 

favourite  island  bears ; 
For  ever   shall  it  bear  that  name ;  thy  bones 

within  its  soil 
Shall  rest  where  Uisce-chains  *  green  slopes  are 

watered  by  the  Foyle, 

1  Feval,  old  name  for  Foyle. 
'•'Suillach,  old  name  for  S willy. 
Now  Eskaheen. 


he 
iach 
•hy, 

'•ft 


I  bless  the  land  from   Beleach's  4  rath  which 

frowns  the  Atlantic  o'er 
To  wild  Glengad,  to  fair  Culdaff,  to  Shroove's 

bleak  lonely  shore  ; 
I  bless  each  mountain,  hill,  and  dale,  each  river, 

lake,  and  rill 
From  Feval's  tide  to  Malin  head,  from  Suileach 

to  Magh-bile,5 
This  chosen  isle  forever,  Lord,   be  Thine  and 

Thine  alone, 
And  be  the  garden  of  Thy  church  this  sea-girt 

Innis-Eoghain. 


I   bless  a  thousand   times,   O  King,  thy  royal 

house  and  heirs  ; 
In  counsel  let  their  wisdom  shine,  in  war  be 

victory  theirs, 
Throughout   all   time   may    Niall's    line,    their 

sovereignty  maintain, 
And  rulers  be,  by  land  and  sea,  whilst  Aileach's 

halls  remain  ! 
For  ever    shall    my    prayer   ascend    to    God's 

eternal  throne, 
For  blessings  on  the  young  and   old  !  the  race 

of  Cinel-Eoghain 
Not  wealth  be  theirs,  nor  pomp,  nor  power,  nor 

fortune's  fleeting  dream 
Which   pass,   as    to   the   ocean,    rolls   the   un- 

returning  stream. 
But  faith  and  hope  and  love  divine  mark  ever 

as  God's  own, 
The    virgins   pure  and  valorous  sons  of  rock_| 

bound  Innis-Eoghain. 


As  when  the  silent  dews  of  night  fall  calmly 

o'er  the  vale, 
As   when    the    odorous    blossoms    shed    their 

perfume  on  the  gale, 
That  breathed  prayer's  prolific  power  descended 

on  the  isle, 
More  fruitful  than  the  swelling  waves  of  Egypt's 

lordly  Nile. 
And  passed  away  the  royal  king,  and  passed  the 

saint  away, 
And  oft  since  then  that  isle  has  felt  full  many  a 

tyrant's  sway  ; 
But  Patrick's  blessing  still  remains  to  guard  its 

faith  from  ill 
As  powerful  now  as  when  he  prayed  on  Grianan's 

heath-clad  hill. 
Though  fallen  are  Aileach's  royal  halls  nor  king 

sits  on  its  throne, 

Yet  lives  the  race  that  Patrick  blessed  in  sea 
girt  Innishowen. 


*  In  Malin. 


-Moville. 


8S 


SAINT  MURA,    MARCH    I2TH. 


SATNT     MURA     was     a     Derry 
monk  whom  Saint  Columba  ap 
pointed   to   the   newly-founded 
abbey  of   Fahan.     Though   his 
name  figures  so   much   in   the 
local  traditions  and  records  it  is  quite  im 
possible    to    glean    anything    interesting 
about  his  life.     His  bell  and  crozier  are 
still  extant,  though  no  longer  in  Fahan. 
The  latter,  however,  is  not  the  one  which 
used  to  be  known  as  "  Saint  Mura's  staff" 


7th).  The  annals  also  record  the  deaths 
of  two  other  saints  at  Fahan,  Saint  Killen 
(January  3)  and  Saint  Altan.  All  these, 
and  many  other  unnamed  saints  are 
buried  in  Fahan.  Local  traditions  are 
divided  regarding  the  exact  grave  of  the 
Saint.  Most  likely,  however,  it  is  under 
the  beautiful  stone,  which  we  reproduce, 
and  which  is  commonly  styled  "  the 
Bishops'  grave."  Saint  Mura's  Well, 
over  which  Dr.  Bernard  has,  with  char- 


SAINT    MURA  S    WELL. 


and  which,  in  pre-English  times,  lent 
great  awe  and  solemnity  to  oaths.  The 
Saint's  grave  and  well  are  still  pointed  out 
at  Fahan,  where  lie  many  of  the  saints  of 
olden  days.  Saint  Mura  had  five  brothers, 
all  of  whom  are  venerated  as  saints.  He 
belonged  to  the  O'Neill  family,  and  wrote 
a  short  "Life  of  Saint  Columba."  His 
death  seems  to  have  taken  place  about 
635,  or  even  earlier.  His  successor  was 
Saint  Colman,  who  again  was  succeeded 
by  another  saint  named  Kellach  (October 


acteristic  taste  and  sympathy,  erected  a 
pretty  marble  cross,  whose  three-step 
base,  upright  stem  and  snowy  colour 
speak  most  touchingly  of  the  faith,  the 
purity,  and  uprightness  of  those  by-gone 
days  when  Ireland  was  the  Island  of 
Saints.  Saint  Mura's  festival  is  March 
1 2th,  and  as  you  look  at  his  image  in  the 
Kelly  memorial  window  of  Saint  Eugene's 
do  not  always  forget  to  murmur,  sotto 
voce  :  "  Saint  Mura,  pray  for  us." 


86 


SAINT   COLUMBA 


REMAINS   OF    SAINT    MURA  S  STAFF 
R.   I.  A.   ACADEMY,  DUBLIN. 


SAINT    MURA'S    GRAVE,    FAHAN. 


SAINT   BAITHEN,  JUNE  9. 


ON  the  Saturday  evening  before 
his  death,  Saint  Columba  in 
his  transcription  of  the  Scrip 
tures,  had  reached  the  nth 
verse  of  the  33rd  Psalm : 
"  They  that  seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want 


THE  MOST  REV.  DR.  O'DONNELL. 

for  anything  that  is  good,"  when  he 
laid  down  his  pen,  and  remarked,  "  Let 
Baithen  finish  it."  The  next  verse  of  the 
Psalm  is,  "  Come,  children,  hearken  to 
me;  and  I  will  teach  ye  the  fear  of  the 
Lord."  Columba's  words  were  taken  as 
an  expression  of  his  desire  that  Baithen 
should  succeed  him  in  the  abbacy,  to 
which  accordingly  the  monks  elected 
him. 

This  Baithen  was  a  cousin  of  Col- 
umba's,  who  had  gone  with  him  from 
Deny  to  lona.  He  was  of  a  wonderfully 
gentle  and  loving  disposition.  Saint  Col 
umba  used  to  call  him  "  Saint  John,"  be 
cause  of  his  resemblance  in  character  to 
the  "  Beloved  Disciple." 

He  was  always  praying,  no  matter  what 


he  did  or  where  he  went.  We  are  told  that 
even  between  every  second  morsel  of  food 
he  used  to  ejaculate,  "  O  Lord,  make  haste 
to  help  me,"  or  some  similar  aspiration. 

His  abbacy  was  a  short  one;  a  great 
deal  of  his  time  was  spent  by  the  grave  of 
Saint  Columba,  whence,  ancient  records 
tell  us,  brilliant  lights  used  often  to  flash, 
and  round  about  heavenly  faces  were  fre 
quently  seen. 

On  Tuesday,  June  4th,  600,  Baithen 
took  suddenly  very  ill  at  Mass.  He 
prayed  God  to  preserve  him  till  the  pth. 
His  request  was  granted,  and  on  the  third 
anniversary  of  Columba's  death  he 
breathed  his  last. 

Taughboyne,  his  native  parish,  some 
few  miles  distant  from  Derry,  derives  its 
name  from  him.  Teach-baithen,  or  taugh- 
boyne,  "  the  house  of  Baithen."  Saint 
Columba's  name  of  "  Saint  John"  passed 
into  the  talk  of  the  people,  and  so  the 
name  of  Saint  John's  Town,  or  Saint 
Johnston,  came,  in  its  English  garb,  to  be 
attached  to  the  Planter's  village,  formerly 
a  parliamentary  borough,  and  now  a 
station  on  the  Great  Northern  Railway. 


SAINT   ADAMNAN. 


OVER  the  succeeding  abbots  of 
lona  we  may  pass  in  reverent 
and  admiring  silence  till  we 
come    to    Adamnan,    whom 
Colgan  justly  claims  as 
A  GREAT  DERRY  SAINT. 
He  was  the  biographer  of  Saint  Col- 


He  was  born  about  624,  just  twenty- 
seven  years  after  Columba's  death,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Finn,  Co.  Donegal.  The 
precise  locality  of  his  birth  is  unknown. 
Most  likely  it  was  near  Ballintra,  in  the 
parish  of  Drumholme,  but  the  claims  of 
his  mother's  country,  Tirenna,  also  in 
the  valley  of  the  Finn,  cannot  be  over 
looked.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  old  Irish 
name  of  the  Ballindrait  (Strabane)  district 
in  Tirenna  was  Droghed-Eunan — that  is, 
Adamnan's  bridge. 

Of  his  early  life  we  know  very  little. 
'•'  When  about  25  years  old,"  Dr.  Healy 


.      -..a, 

"ll 


SAINT  ADAMNAN'S  CATHEDRAL,  LETTERKENNY. 

(The  names  Eunan  and  Adamnan  are  the  Irish  and  Latin  forms  of  the  same  Saint's  name). 

umba,  and  the  most  famous  man  of  his  observes,   "  we  may   suppose  the   young 

day.  Holy,  as  he  was  learned,  the  Church  scholar,  one  day,  when  the  south  wind 

has  long  since  inscribed  his  name  on  her  was  blowing  fair,  launched  his  currach  on 

calendar,  and  celebrates  his  feast  on  the  the  Foyle  and  sweeping  past  the  hills  of 


23rd  of  September. 


Innishowen,  he  would,  in   about  twelve 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


hours  see  Columba's  holy  island  slowly- 
rising  from  the  waves.  As  his  barque  ap 
proached  he  would  eagerly  note  all  the 
features  of  the  island,  the  central,  rugged 
ridge,  the  low  moory  shores,  and  narrow 
strait  separating  it  from  the  Ross  of  Mull 
and  the  mainland.  With  a  heart  swelling 
with  emotion,  he  must  have  stepped  on 
the  shore  of  Port  Ronan,  and  then  kneel- 


Adamnan  teaching  at  the  Court  of  Fin- 
nachta,  King  of  Ireland,  and  afterwards 
coming  to  Derry,  there  to  rule  as  Abbot. 
What  a  deep  and  lasting  effect  his  gentle, 
loving  piety  had  on  the  community  is  evi 
dent  from  the  manner  in  which  they 
linked  his  name  with  the  great  Columba's, 
and  called  the  monastery  well  (Tober 
Adamnain)  after  him.  It  was  one  of  the 


CARDINAL    LOGUE. 

Born  in  Columba's  native  county,  and  translated  dom  the  See  ot  Saint  Adamnan  to  that  onci 
occupied  by  Saint  Gelasius  of  Derry,  Armagh.) 


ing  prostrate  before  the  abbot  in  his 
wooden  cell,  begged  to  be  admitted  to  the 
habit  of  the  Order.  And  we  may  be  sure 
the  Venerable  Seighne  received  with  open 
arms  the  strong-limbed,  fair-haired  boy, 
who  was  sprung  of  his  own  ancient  line, 
and  born  in  his  own  Tirhugh." 

Years  after  he  became  a  priest,  we  find 


three  wells  known  as  Saint  Columba's 
Wells,  and  was  situated  about  the  foot  of 
Howard  Street  (Priest's  Lane).  It  has 
now  wholly  disappeared.  One  day  in 
lona  he  was  late  coming  to  office.  A 
monk  went  to  seek  him  in  his  cell,  and 
found  him,  as  they  say  Saint  Anthony  was 
afterwards  found,  kneeling  in  rapt  and 


SAINT  COLUMBA, 


gladsome  adoration  of  the  Christ  Child, 
whose  apparition  the  monk  also  beheld. 
The  "  Historical  Lessons,"  for  Saint 
Adamnan's  Feast,  in  the  Aberdeen  Bre 
viary,  are  our  authority  for  this  pretty  and 
instructive  story,  which,  through  the  in 
tercession  of  Saint  Adamnan,  should 
strongly  incite  to  earnest  devotion 


in  good  stead  when  in  685  he  was  deputed 
to  visit  England,  and  procure  the  libera 
tion  of  Irish  captives  there  imprisoned. 
Alfdrid  was  now  happily  King  and,  as 
such,  in  a  position  to  bring  Adamnan's 
mission  to  a  successful  issue,  which  he 
did. 

About  the  same  time  he  became  en- 


CARUINAL    MORAN. 
To  whom  we  are  very  much  indebted   01  our  knowledge  of  Saint  Columba's  life. 


towards  the  Christ  Child  all  who  live  in 
Derry  Columbkille. 

When  he  was  about  fifty-five  years  old, 
Adamnan  was  recalled  and  made  Abbot 
of  lona.  While  in  Ireland,  he  had  had 
under  his  charge  a  young  Northumbrian 
Prince,  named  Alfdrid,  who,  driven  from 
home,  had  been  compelled  to  seek  shelter 
in  Ulster.  Adamnan  became  his  "  tutor 
and  foster  father."  This  fact  stood  him 


tangled  in  the  Paschal  controversy.  When 
Patrick  came  to  Ireland  the  law  regulat 
ing  the  date  of  Easter  had  not  been  made 
uniform,  so  the  Irish  monks  clung  to 
Patrick's  method,  even  after  it  had  been 
shown  to  be  mathematically  wrong.  They 
also  followed  the  old  style  of  celebrating 
Easter  on  the  i4th  of  the  Jewish  month 
Nisan,  whenever  it  happened  to  fall  upon 
a  Sunday,  instead  of  on  the  following 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Sunday.  Saint  Cummian  had  endeavoured 
to  change  the  system  in  lona,  but  failed. 
The  Synod  of  Whitby  now  appealed  to 
Adamnan  during  his  stay  in  Northumbria 
to  put  an  end  to  the  discrepancy.  He 
undertook  to  do  so.  It  was  purely  a  ques 
tion  of  science  and  discipline,  not  at  all  of 
faith.  The  Irish  monks  were  also  in  the 
habit  of  wearing  the  tonsure  from  ear  to 
ear,  as  Patrick  and  Columba  had  done, 
instead  of  in  the  Roman  fashion.  It  was 
a  very  small  point.  To  those  who  would 
see  in  it  any  independence  of  Rome,  it  is 


Saint  Adamnan  was  often  in  Ireland 
during  his  abbacy  of  lona.  He  attended 
many  synods  and  parliaments,  and  his 
name  is  graven  on  some  of  the  most 
humane  and  statesmanlike  reforms  of  the 
Feis  of  Tara.  Nay,  so  great  was  his  in 
fluence  that  we  can  still  point  out  the 
spot  where  his  tent  was  pitched,  and 
where  his  chair  stood,  in  the  midst  of  the 
assembly. 

The  declining  years  of  his  life,  from 
697  till  703,  were  spent  wholly  in  Ireland 
— most  likely  in  his  monastery  of  Derry. 


SAINT  COLUMBA  S  CONVENT,   ESSENDON,  MELBOURNE. 


only  necessary  to  say  that  there  is  more 
difference  between  the  Western  and 
Roman  styles  of  wearing  the  tonsure 
to-day  than  there  was  then.  Yet  we  can 
hardly  be  accused  of  separation  from 
Rome.  Adamnan  altered  his  tonsure  to 
the  ordinary  mode.  When,  however,  he 
returned  to  Ireland,  though  he  had  sixty 
released  captives  back  with  him,  the 
clergy  would  not  hear  of  any  alteration, 
neither  would  the  monks  of  lona.  The 
Irish  yielded  after  a  time,  but  lona  re 
mained  obstinate  till  716. 


Towards  the  end  of  703  he  returned  to 
lona,  and  gave  the  remainder  of  his  days 
uninterruptedly  to  prayer  and  contempla 
tion.  He  has  left,  besides  his  life  of  Col 
umba  and  other  works,  a  most  valuable 
treatise  on  the  "Holy  Places  of  Palestine." 
He  had  never  journeyed  thither  himself, 
but  was  fortunate  enough  to  meet  a 
French  bishop,  named  Arculph,  who  had 
been  an  extensive  and  most  observant 
traveller,  and  who  had  been  shipwrecked 
off  the  coast  of  lona.  He  stayed  a  long 
time  in  the  monastery  and  gave  Adamnan 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


all  the  information  which  the  latter  has 
framed  so  gracefully  and  graphically  in 
his  book.  He  was  also  an  ardent  col 
lector  of  saints'  relics,  of  which  he  had  a 
wonderful  treasury,  that  was  often  after 
wards  carried  over  to  Ireland  to  add 
solemnity  to  treaties  and  pacts. 


whose  honour  Dr.  O'Donnell,  the  present 
patriotic  and  illustrious  occupant  of  the 
See,  is  rearing  that  graceful  pile  in  Letter- 
kenny,  of  which  we  are  glad  to  be  able  to 
reproduce  an  illustration  elsewhere. 

Saint  Adamnan  died  in  lona  on  the 
23rd  of  September,   704.     His    remains 


MY    DKLiGHT    IS   TO    BE    WITH    THE    CHILDREN    OF    MEN. 


We  do  not  read  of  him  ever  receiving 
episcopal  consecration.  In  Irish  and 
Scotch  Calendars  he  is  always  "  Abbot,  23 
September."  It  has,  however,  been 
claimed,  or  assumed,  with  fair  chances  of 
probability,  that  he  is  the  same  as  Saint 
Eunan,  Bishop  and  Patron  of  Raphoe,  to 


were  exhumed  about  a  century  afterwards,, 
and  during  the  period  of  the  Norse 
descents  were  removed  for  safety  to  Ire 
land.  They  were  concealed  in  some  of 
the  large  Columban  abbeys — where  is  not 
definitely  known; but  from  Colgan's  notes 
one  would  seem  to  gather  that  portion  at 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


93 


least  of  his  relics  are  in  the  Dubh-Regles 
of  Derry. 

Saint  Adamnan  is  known  as  Saint 
Eunan  in  the  Co.  Donegal,  and  as  Saint 
Onan  in  the  Co.  Derry,  where,  near  the 
Bann,  Saint  Onan's  Rock  is  still  pointed 
out,  just  as  Saint  Eunan's  bed  used  to  be 
at  Raphoe.  It  is  curious  that  in  his  native 


He  is  chiefly  remembered  as  the  bio 
grapher  of  Saint  Columba.  We  have 
already  given  a  photograph  of  his  illus 
trious  successor  in  Raphoe ;  we  cannot 
close  this  chapter  without  one  also  of  the 
eminent  Prelate,  on  whom  his  mantle  of 
Columban  historian  seems  to  have  fallen, 
and  who  by  lectures,  sermons,  and  publi- 


IT    SHOULD    BE    OUR    "DELIGHT"    ALSO    TO    BE    CLOSELY    BOUND    BY    THE 
CHAINS    OF    LOVE    AND    SACRIFICE    TO    HIS    SACRED    HEART. 


diocese  only  Raphoe  and  Drumholme 
parishes  seem  to  have  been  under  his  pat 
ronage,  while  in  Derry  there  are  no  less 
than  five  parishes,  namely,  Clonleigh 
(Strabane),  Errigal,  Dunbo,  Bovevagh, 
and  Cloncha  (Malin),  dedicated  to 
him. 


cations,  as  also  by  dedications  of  churches 
and  convents,  has  done  more  than  all 
others  living  to  revive  real  devotion  to 
Saint  Columba.  We  mean  Cardinal 
Moran,  the  great  and  good  Archbishop  of 
Sydney ;  and  as  we  have  touched  on  Aus 
tralia  at  all,  we  give,  at  the  request  of  an 


94 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


esteemed  friend,  this  photograph  of  Saint 
Columba's  Convent,  Essendon,  Victoria, 
just  to  indicate  what  is  being  done  of  re 
cent  years  for  the  spread  of  devotion  to 
Columba  under  the  Southern  Cross.  In 


the  United  States,  of  course,  as  beseems 
the  Irish  origin  of  their  grand  Catholicity, 
churches  and  convents  without  number 
have  been  called  after  Berry's  great  saint, 
Columba. 


SAINT  GELASIUS,  MARCH  27™. 


SHORTLY  after  the  commence 
ment  of  the  i2th  century  a 
young  man  named  Gilla  McLiag 
presented  himself  as  a  postulant 
for  admission  to  the  Derry 
Monastery.  His  abilities  were  great,  and 
his  piety  still  greater.  When  he  was 
about  33  years  old  the  monks  elected  him 
Abbot.  For  17  years  he  presided  over 
Derry.  Then  the  resignation  of  the  great 
Saint  Malachy  summoned  him  to  fill  the 
See  of  Saint  Patrick  at  Armagh.  He 
proved  to  be  not  only  a  prudent  and 
pious  bishop,  but  a  warm  patriot  and  true 
statesman.  He  noted  the  gathering 
clouds  that  portended  a  Norman  invasion, 
and  hastened  in  his  capacity  of  Primate 
to  make  a  visitation  of  Ireland,  endea 
vouring  as  he  went  to  band  the  Irish 
chieftains  together  and  make  them  forget 
their  feuds.  He  failed,  as  Saint  Laurence 
O'Toole,  his  contemporary,  also  failed— 
for  discord  was  as  rife  then  as  now,  rend 
ing  the  very  heart  of  the  land. 

He  convened  the  great  Synod  of 
Kells  in  1152,  and  accompanied  Cardinal 
Paparo  through  Ireland.  In  1157  he  pre 
sided  at  the  Synod  of  Mellifont,  and 
again  in  1158  we  find  him  in  another 
Synod  at  Brigh-Thaigh,  in  Meath.  It 
was  there  he  procured  the  erection  of 
Derry  into  an  episcopal  See.  The  Synod 
of  Rath-Bresil  in  mo  had  decreed  that 
such  an  erection  should  take  place,  but 
the  monks  had  strenuously  resisted  any 
such  change,  deeming  it  an  insult  to  Col 
umba's  memory  to  have  the  Abbot  of 
higher  rank  than  he  was.  Saint  Gelasius 


— for  such  is  the  Latin  name  of  this  great 
Derry  saint — however  made  all  things 
smooth  and  had  his  successor  in  the 
abbacy,  Flathbert  O'Brolcain,  or  Bradley, 
consecrated  Bishop.  When  Henry  II. 
came  to  Ireland  in  1172  and  summoned 
the  bishops  to  meet  him  at  Cashel,  Gela 
sius  went  on  a  visitation  of  Connaught 
just  purposely  to  avoid  him  and  make  one 
last  effort  with  Turlogh  O'Connor,  the 
King  of  Ireland,  to  bestir  himself  and 
save  the  land. 

Failing,  he  had  no  alternative  but  to 
meet  Henry  in  Dublin  the  following  win 
ter.  But  it  broke  his  heart,  and  he  lin 
gered  on  a  sick  bed  till  death  summoned 
him  to  heaven  on  March  27th,  1174.  It 
is  told  that  he  would  hot  partake  n  any 
way  of  Henry's  table,  and  to  preserve 
himself  from  all  such  contamination, 
brought  with  him  from  Armagh,  bread 
and  a  cow,  that  he  might  have  his  own 
food  and  drink,  even  when  sojourning 
at  the  Norman  Court.  He  had  a 
great  devotion  to  Saint  Eugene,  of 
Ardstraw,  to  whose  memory  he  had  a  cross 
erected  in  the  streets  of  Armagh,  as  a  com 
panion  to  Saint  Columbkille's,  and  it  was 
he  who,  on  the  erection  of  Derry  into  an 
episcopal  See,  first  associated  their  names 
as  joint  patrons.  We  in  Derry  may  well 
invoke  his  intercession  as  one  of  out 
most  powerful  protectors  in  heaven,  and 
especially  on  his  feast  day  (27th  March) 
remember  that  his  first  Mass  and  his  daily 
Mass  for  over  20  years  were  in  the  old 
Long  Tower. 


95 


FLATHBERT    O'BROLCAIN, 


THOUGH  not  styled  a  Saint,  but 
only  a  "  Blessed"  by  Colgan, 
may  well  be  ranked  amongst  the 
"  holy  and  illustrious  dead  of 
Derry."  He  succeeded  Gelasius 
as  Abbot,  and  through  his  influence  was 
in  1158  consecrated  first  Bishop  of  Derry. 
As  head  of  the  Columban  Order,  he  made 
a  visitation  of  the  dependent  abbeys,  and 
as  successor  of  Columbkille  claimed  tri 
bute  from  all  the  chieftains  of  Ulster,  to 
help  hi  n  in  building  his  great  cathedral, 
or  Temple  More.  It  stood,  as  we  have 
already  proved  from  the  maps,  where 
Saint  Columba's  schools  now  stand. 
Houses  had  been  erected  in  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  the  monastery.  He  had  80 
of  them  removed  and  the  entire  precincts 
enclosed  by  a  "  cashel."  He  then  set  his 
stonecutters  to  work,  intending,  like 
Solomon,  to  have  every  stone  ready  for 
its  place.  A  huge  lime  kiln,  70  feet 
square,  was  then  made  ready,  and  when 
everything  had  been  prepared,  in  1164, 
a  little  army  of  skilled  men,  drawn  from 
every  part  of  Ireland,  was  set  to  work, 
and  in  80  days,  we  are  told,  the  masonry 
was  completed.  The  building  was  a  large 
one,  measuring  80  paces,  or  240  feet, 
down  the  nave.  It  had  transepts  and 
aisles,  and  from  the  praises  lavished  on  it 
by  contemporary  annalists,  it  must  have 
been  no  mean  rival  to  the  graceful  piles 
that  were  simultaneously  rising  within  the 
Pale,  such  as  Christ  Church,  Dublin, 
Mellifont,  etc.,  etc.  But  can  we  form  any 
idea  of  what  it  was  like  ?  Yes,  we  can 
from  i  he  ruins  of  St.  Mary's  Cathedral, 
lona,  which  was  erected  shortly  after 
wards,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
O'Brolcains,  and  most  likely  by  the  same 
men  as  built  Derry  Cathedral.  In  1164, 
the  very  year  he  finished  his  Templemore, 
Flathbert' was  urged  to  become  Abbot  of 
lona.  That,  neither  the  Ardrigh  of  Ulster 
ncr  Saint  Gelasius  would  allow,  but  as  is 


quite  evident  from  the  annals  of  lona  he 
became  superintendent  of  it,  and  sent  over 
his  kinsman,  Donald  O'Brolcain,  the  then 
Prior  of  Derry,  to  become  Prior  of  lona. 

This  Donald  it  was  who  reared  the 
splendid  shrine  in  lona,  whose  ruins  even 
yet  challenge  the  admiration  of  every 
passing  traveller.  Some  contemporary 
hand  inscribed  upon  one  of  the  granite 
columns  the  inscription  "Donaldus  O'Bro 
cain  erected  this  pile."  We  know  for  cer 
tain  that  Donald  was  at  one  time  Prior  of 
Derry,  that  he  died  (27th  April,  1203) 
prior  and  Senior  of  lona,  and  that  he 
erected  Saint  Mary's  about  the  time  that 
the  Templemore  was  finished.  Is  it  then 
rash  to  assume  that  he  availed  of  the 
skilled  artificers  his  kinsman  had  assem 
bled  in  Derry,  or  that  he  followed  in  the 
main  the  plan  that  had  won  such  admira 
tion  at  home  ? 

Thence  we  have  always  felt  in  looking 
at  Saint  Mary's  that  we  were  gazing  on 
a  duplicate  of  the  Templemore,  smaller, 
of  course,  but  in  the  main  most  similar. 
And  that  word  Templemore — may  it  not 
as  readily,  nay,  more  probably,  have  been 
Temple-Muire,  or  Mary's  Temple,  as  what 
has  been  too  hastily  assumed  regarding 
its  derivation  ? 

The  old  Abbey  church  still  stood, 
where  the  church  stands  at  present. 
Henceforth  the  Annalists  term  the  "Dubh- 
Regles,"  because  of  its  old  and  dingy  ap 
pearance  compared  with  the  new  and 
graceful  Templemore.  "  I  am  black  but 
beautiful,  O  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem," 
the  annalists  might  in  their  admiration 
and  love  say  of  it,  as  the  Prophet  does  for 
Our  Lady.  It  was  small,  not  much  larger 
than  Saint  Oran's  Chapel,  lona,  is,  and 
bore  the  same  relation  and  position  to  the 
new  Templemore,  as  that  little  chapel 
does  to  Saint  Mary's!" 

For  some  years  before  his  death  Flath 
bert  suffered  from  a  painful  illness,  which 


96 


SAINT  COLVMBA. 


he  bore  with  great  patience.  His  death, 
the  Four  Masters  tell  us,  was  a  most  edify 
ing  one.  The  exact  day  is  not  recorded, 


but  it  was  in  1175,  and  he  was  buried  in 
the  graveyard  adjoining  the  Abbey 
Church. 


SAINT    MAURICE    OF    DERRY. 


FLATHBERT   had,   owing   to  his 
infirmity,    10    get    an    assistant 
bishop  appointed.     The  choice 
of  the  monks  (by  direction,  nc 
doubt,  so  as  to  hasten  the  union 
of  the  two  dioceses)  fell  upon  Maurice 
Coffey,    Bishop    of   Kinel-Eoghain,   who 
had,   in   1150,   transferred  his   residence 
from  the  ancient  seat  of  the  bishopric  at 
Ardstraw  to  his  native  place,  Maghera,  or 
Rathlury. 

The  annalists  are  loud,  and  perhaps 
somewhat  extravagant,  in  their  praises  of 
this  Bishop,  whom  Colgan  counts 
amongst  the  saints,  and  is  just  as  warm  in 
his  tributes  as  the  earlier  writers. 

His  spirit  of  zeal  and  ardent  devotion 
to  duty,  his  extraordinary  charity  and 
piety,  not  to  speak  at  all  of  his  learning 
and  abilities,  have  procured  him  the  very- 
choicest  niche  in  that  imperishable  tem 
ple  of  Irish  fame,  the  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters.  "Having  thus,"  they  say, 
"  gained  the  palm  of  piety,  penance,  and 


pilgrimages,  he  resigned  his  spirit  to 
heaven,  in  the  Dubh-Regles  of  Columb- 
kille,  on  the  loth  of  February,  1173."  He 
was  on  a  visitation  of  his  diocese  when 
he  took  ill  at  Magilligan,  and  was  thence 
carried,  at  his  own  request,  to  Derry, 
where,  the  Masters  inform  us,  "  a  great 
miracle  took  place  on  the  night  of  his 
death ;  from  twilight  to  daybreak  the 
firmament  was  illuminated,  and  all  the 
people  beheld  the  light ;  a  large  globe  of 
fire  arose  over  the  town  and  moved  in  a 
south-easterly  direction;  all  the  people 
arose  from  their  beds  imagining  it  to  be 
day." 

All  this  brilliancy  may,  of  course,  be  at 
tributed  to  a  meteoric  shower,  though 
February  is  a  rather  unusual  month  for 
such  a  display,  but  two  grand  facts  stand 
out  in  bold  relief  amidst  it.  One  is  the 
eminence  and  sanctity  of  this  great  Derry 
saint,  and  the  other  is  that  his  ashes 
mingle  with  the  dust  of  the  Long  Tower 
Churchyard. 


"  CHILD,    GIVE    ME    THY    HEART.' 
(From  an  Aitar  of  the  Sacred  f/fa>t.) 


School  Banner}  [St.  Columba's  School. 

«'  JESUS,    MARY,    AND    JOSEPH,    I    GIVE    YOU    MY    HEART    AND    MY    SOUL." 


AUGUST    I5TH 


H 


98 


THE    LAST   GLORIES   OF   IONA. 


AULEY  O'FRIEL  succeeded 
Flathbert  in  the  Abbacies  of 
Deny  and  lona.  The  latter  he 
could  only  govern  by  deputy. 
Norsemen  gave  trouble,  and 
one,  Cellach,  who  was  probably  Celestine, 
a  Benedictine,  whom  Reginald,  Lord  of 
the  Isles,  introduced  to  lona,  attempted 
to  set  up  another  abbey  in  the  Island.  It 
was  at  this  period  that  the  Nunnery, 
whose  ruins  we  have  already  examined, 
was  erected  in  lona  by  Reginald.  It  was 
at  first  Benedictine,  but  subsequently  be 
came  Augustinian.  The  older  monks  of 
lona  did  not  like  these  changes.  They 
sent  for  their  Abbot  to  Derry,  and  he,  ac 
companied  by  the  Bishops  of  Derry  and 
Raphoe,  and  other  powerful  friends,  pro 
ceeded  to  the  island  in  1203,  and  com 
pelled  Cellach  to  desist.  Auley  remained 
as  Abbot  and  the  dispute  was  referred  to 
Rome. 

Under  the  wise  guidance  of  Auley,  the 
institute  recovered  somewhat  of  its  former 
prestige  and  seemed  to  be  entering  on  a 
new  career  of  usefulness  when,  all  at  once, 
the  Irish  annalists  cease  to  take  any 
notice  of  it. 

The  reason  of  this  silence  seems  to  be 
that  after  the  death  of  Auley  in  Decem 
ber,  1203,  Pope  Innocent  raised  Celes 
tine  to  the  abbacy.  The  monks  became 
Benedictine,  and,  all  at  once,  the  abbey 
ceased  to  be  Irish,  and  at  the  same  time 
ceased  to  be  great  and  holy. 

Dr.  Reeves  remarks  how  Columba  went 
from  Derry  to  build  the  original  abbey  of 
lona,  and  how,  six  hundred  years  later, 
another  Derryman,  O'Brolcain,  went 
across  to  rear  the  present  graceful  pile. 
He  furthermore  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that  when  first  we  hear  of  lona  it  was 
manned  by  Derry  monks,  and  when  last 
noticed  in  Irish  annals  it  is  again 


ruled  and  peopled  by  monks  from 
Derry. 

Auley  O'Friel,  the  last  Irish  Abbot,  was 
a  lineal  descendant  of  Eoghan,  Saint 
Columba's  brother. 

About  the  same  time  that  lona  became 
Benedictine,  Armagh  and  Derry  became 
Augustinian,  in  deference  probably  to  a 
similar  request  from  Pope  Innocent,  who 
was  anxious  to  bring  all  the  religious 
orders  under  the  newly-framed  and 
systematic  rules  of  the  Canons  Regular. 

The  abbey  buildings  were  still  in  close 
proximity  to  the  Templemore ;  but  after 
the  monks  became  Augustinian,  and  the 
Cathedral  Chapter  had  been  regularly 
constituted  by  a  brief  from  Rome,  in  July, 
1254,  their  nearness  to  the  cathedral  was 
perhaps  inconvenient,  and  so  we  find 
them  removing  to  the  present  site  of  Saint 
Augustine's  Chapel,  within  the  Walls. 
There  they  continued  to  live  till  the  dis 
solution  in  1566. 

The  last  Abbot  was  Eugene  O'Doherty, 
who  was,  on  the  25th  June,  1554,  named 
Bishop  of  Derry  also.  He  was,  his  re 
cord  of  appointment  in  Rome  says,  of 
noble  origin  by  both  his  parents.  He 
must,  therefore,  have  been  a  near  relative 
of  the  ill-fated  young  chieftain  of  Innis- 
howen,  Sir  Cahir  O'Doherty.  He 
(Eugene)  died  in  1568.  The  monks  had 
been  dispersed,  and  the  abbey  gutted  be 
fore  his  death. 

The  convent  chapel  of  Saint  Augus 
tine's  was  preserved  and  used  as  a  Pro 
testant  church  up  till  the  present  cathe 
dral  had,  in  1633,  been  erected  in  a  gar 
den  where  no  ecclesiastical  edifice  had 
been  before.  The  present  Saint  Augus 
tine's  dates  only  from  Dr.  Barnard's  time. 
Even  the  older  edifice,  which  he  disman 
tled,  was  not  of  Catholic  origin,  having 
been  built  after  the  Londoners  came. 


[     99    ] 


THE    TEMPLEMORE   AT   THE    CLOSE   OF   THE    i2TH 

CENTURY. 


"^  HE  following  extract  from  the 
annals  for  1197  gives  us  some 
idea  of  the  magnificence  of  the 
Templemore  and  its  appoint 
ments. 

rhe  altar  of  the  Templemore  Was 
ed  by  McEtig  (McGettigan),  one  of 
Kianacht  (or  O'Kane  tribe)  of  the 
richest  chalices  in  all  Ireland.  One 
lem  was  at  the  time  of  its  presenta- 
(1177)  valued  at  60  cows.  He  broke 
i  and  took  off  their  jewels."  Arch- 
in  his  reference  to  the  same  robbery, 


says  that  "  McEtig  stole  besides  314  cups 
from  the  altar."  It  is  satisfactory  to 
know  that  he  was  arrested  three  days 
after  and  hanged  on  the  spot. 

The  subsequent  annals  of  Derry  are 
mostly  very  sad  to  read.  Chief  fighting 
against  chief,  and  the  Norman  foe  im 
mediately  vanquishing  the  victor.  Even 
the  very  porch  of  the  church  was  red 
dened  with  blood.  It  was  the  same  all 
over  the  land.  No  wonder  God  per 
mitted  the  penal  scourge. 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  TEMPLEMORE. 


N"     1566     an    English     fleet     sailed 
up   Lough    Foyle   and   took     pos 
session  of  Derry.       Colonel  Ran 
dolph    was     commander     of    the 
garrison.       He     took     possession, 
only  of  the  Augustinian  Convent,  but 
he    older   abbey   buildings   and   the 
iplemore.     He  turned  the  latter  into 
iwder  magazine.     Being  shortly  after- 
1s  slain  in  a  skirmish  with  O'Neill,  he 
succeeded  by  Colonel  St.  Low,  who 
;inued  to  quarter  his  soldiers  in  the 
i  and  store  his  powder  either  in  the 
sept  or  in  the  chancel  of  the  cathedral, 
the  24th  April,  1568,  the  powder  ex- 
led,  destroying  the  cathedral,  but  at 
same  time  causing  such  great  loss  of 
to  the  English  that  the  survivors  im- 
liately  fled  from  Derry. 
!urious  stories  were  told  about  a  wolf 
rushing  past  the  sentries  with  a  flam- 
torch    in    his    mouth,    and    making 
ight  for  the  magazine,  which  was  in- 
itly  fired.     I  have  noticed  a  wolf  in- 
luced  into  some  old  pictures  of  Saint 
umba,  and  unless  by  this  tale  I  can- 
otherwise  account  for  it  as  an  at- 
ute. 


Whatever  may  have  happened,  friend 
and  foe  alike  acknowledged  the  hand  of 
Saint  Columba  in  the  terrible,  though 
tardy,  punishment  inflicted  upon  the  pro- 
faners  of  his  church.  Ever  after  a  whole 
some  fear  restrained  the  Planters  from 
dealing  with  Columba's  ground,  as  they 
did  with  the  other  religious  sites  of  the 
city.  The  consequence  was  that  Catholics 
were  able  to  hold  on  to  the  ground  till 
Father  Lynch,  in  1784,  secured  a  legal 
title  to  it. 

The  ruins  of  the  Templemore  and  the 
abbey  church  were  all  pulled  down  in 
1609  to  furnish  material  for  the  building 
of  the  city  walls.  Some  portion  of  the 
foundations,  with  the  Round  Tower, 
must,  however,  have  been  extant  when 
Neville  drew  his  map  in  1689.  All 
traces  were,  of  course,  obliterated  the  fol 
lowing  year,  1690,  when  the  Walls  were 
repaired. 

Sampson  says  that  in  his  day  (1802) 
some  few  patches  of  the  abbey  ruins  were 
still  to  be  seen.  Mr.  Perry  locates  them 
at  the  foot  of  the  chapel  steps,  going 
towards  the  well.  They  have  long  since 
been  removed. 


I 

i 


100       J 


RAYMOND  O'GALLAGHER  THE  MARTYR  BISHOP  OF 
DERRY,  MARCH  15. 


WE  have   seen  that  the  last 
Abbot  of  Derry  was  Eugene 
O'Doherty.     He   was   suc 
ceeded  in  the  bishopric,  but 
not  the   abbacy,   by   Ray 
mond  O'Gallagher,  a  native  of  Donegal, 
who  at  the  very  early  age  of  twenty-four 
was  appointed  administrator  of  the  dio 
cese  of  Killala,  and  three  years  after  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  the  same. 


place  to  place.  In  1600  he  was  living  in 
Fahan,  then  a  part  of  the  Bishop's 
parish.  Dowcra's  men  were  keen  on  his 
scent,  and  on  the  evening  of  March  i5th, 
1 60 1,  we  find  him  hiding  in  the  bogs  of 
Killea,  some  three  miles  in  the  Strabane 
direction  from  Derry.  The  night  was 
bitterly  cold  and  frosty ;  and  when  he 
thought  all  danger  was  past  for  the 
moment,  he  crept  to  a  hamlet,  which  lay 


KILLEA    GRAVEYARD. 
(Where  the  Martyr-Bishop  O'Gallagher  is  buried.) 


In  1569  he  was  transferred  to  Derry, 
and  appointed  Vice-Primate  some  time 
later.  He  was  one  of  the  most  famous 
men  of  his  century — most  eager  and 
active  in  the  spread  of  religion,  and  for 
the  welfare  of  Ireland.  English  spies, 
through  the  State  Papers,  speak  of  him 
as  "  the  brain"  of  Hugh  O'Neill's  move 
ment.  Such  a  patriot  was  naturally  de 
tested  by  the  enemy.  When  O'Neill  had 
succumbed  they  hunted  Gallagher  from 


on  the  outskirts  of  the  bog.  Knocking 
at  a  door  he  was  heartily  welcomed,  and 
was  seated  by  the  fire  when  the  cry  got 
up  of  "  the  soldiers."  All  fled,  but  as 
Raymond  was  too  old  and  stiff  to  go  very- 
far  he  merely  crawled  to  the  adjoining 
stackyard,  where  he  hid  himself  under  a 
pile  of  straw. 

The  soldiers,  not  finding  him  whom 
they  wanted,  set  fire  to  some  of  the 
houses.  Just  as  they  were  leaving  a 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


101 


woman  and  child  appeared  on  the  scene. 
She  had  been  milking,  and  was  carrying 
her  pail  when,  all  unwarned,  she  stum 
bled  to  her  death,  for,  of  course,  Dowcra's 
men  could  not  let  the  opportunity  of 
bloodshed  pass. 

The  soldiers  then  left.  One,  however, 
a  scullion  belonging  to  the  army,  re 
mained  hidden  behind  the  ditch.  Bye 
and  by  the  people  returned,  and,  seeing 
the  corpses  of  the  murdered  woman  and 
child,  began  to  conjecture  if  the  Bishop 


Others,  too — priests  and  people — tradi 
tion  says,  were  killed  along  with  him. 
The  scattered  remains  of  this  glorious 
and  venerable  martyr  were  gathered  and 
buried  in  the  old  churchyard  of  Killea, 
just  under  the  eastern  gable,  behind 
where  the  altar  was,  but  outside,  of 
course,  for,  as  Lynch  cays,  the  church 
had  been  desecrated.  We  give  a  photo- 
gram  of  the  graveyard  above,  but  the  pre 
cise  position  of  the  grave  cannot  now  be 
determined.  The  ruins  of  the  old  church, 


HOLYWELL    HILL,    DERRY- 


were  safe.  He  replied  from  under  the 
straw  that  he  was,  but  felt  unable  to 
move.  They  released  him,  and  were  not! 
long  busy  striving  to  extinguish  the  flames 
when  the  soldiery,  who  had  been  inter 
cepted  by  the  spy,  returned  stealthily. 
Some  had  time  to  fly,  but  not  the  bishop. 
They  set  upon  him  in  fiendish  fashion, 
and  Dr.  Lynch  (who  wrote  some  thirty 
years  after,  and  from  whose  manuscript, 
copied  in  Trinity  College  by  Mr.  Patrick 
Semple,  University  College,  Dublin,  for 
Dr.  O'Doherty,  I  gather  my  facts)  says 
they  literally  hacked  his  body  to  pieces. 


founded  by  Saint  Patrick,  and  retained  or 
restored  as  a  chapel-of-ease  to  the  Tern- 
plemore,  were  extant  some  thirty  years 
ago,  but  since  that  time  were  swept  away 
by  that  "  enlightened"  body,  the  Irish 
Society,  to  build  the  cemetery  gate-house. 
A  cairn  was  raised  over  the  spot  red 
dened  by  the  martyr's  blood.  It,  too, 
has  disappeared,  but  from  those  who  re 
member  it,  we  learn  that  it  was  about 
thirty  yards  from  the  cross  roads  imme 
diately  below  Killea  graveyard,  on  the 
Derry  side.  Lewis'  Topographical  Dic 
tionary  calls  it  the  "  Priest's  Cairn,"  and 


IO2 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


some  of  the  older  people  remember  in 
their  childhood  to  have  heard  it  called 
"  Father  Gallagher's  Cairn." 

Above  the  scene  of  the  martyrdom 
towers  "  Holywell  Hill,"  of  which  we  give 
a  view,  because  of  its  association  with 
Saint  Columba,  who,  tradition  says,  once 
at  least,  spent  there  a  night  in  prayer,  like 
his  Divine  Master  on  the  mountain  be 
yond  Gennesareth. 

After  Raymond  O'Gallagher,  Derry 
had  no  bishop  for  120  years.  As  I  am 
not  now  writing  a  history,  but  only  col- 


full  details  with  the  recently  published 
"  Monumenta  Vaticana,"  by  Theiner,  and 
other  recent  works. 

In  Raymond  O'Gallagher  we  may  well 
consider  the  martyrs  of  Derry  personified, 
just  as  round  a  few  brilliant  and  familiar 
names  we  group  the  ten  thousand  martyrs 
of  the  Catacombs. 

The  woman  and  child  who  were  put  to 
death  the  same  night  as  he,  are  no  less 
saints  and  martyrs  than  he  is.  Who  can 
tell  how  many  such  laid  down  their  lives 
for  the  faith  in  the  dark  ages  of  persecu- 


DEAD    CHRIST,    FOURTEENTH     STATION. 

Resolve  at  this  Station  to  visit  the  Blessed  Sfttcrament  more    frequently,  and  in  memory  ot  His  grave  to  pray 
oftener  to  a.ndfor  the  "  Holy  Dead  "  of  Derry. 


lecting  some  reminiscenes  of  Derry  Col- 
umbkille  that  may  be  useful  to  my 
sodality,  I  must  refer  all  who  wish  for 
fuller  information  on  these  subjects  to 
Dr.  O'Doherty's  admirable  papers  in  the 
"  Ecclesiastical  Record,"  which  it  is  to  be 
hoped  he  will  yet  be  induced  to  publish 
in  collective  form.  Father  Jas.  M'Laugh- 
lin's  "  Memoirs  of  the  Bishops  of  Derry" 
("Derry  Journal"  Office,  1879)  is  also  a 
most  valuable  little  work,  which  needs, 
however,  to  be  collated  by  those  seeking 


tion  in  and  around  Derry  ?  Though 
nameless  and  forgotten  on  earth,  they  are 
none  the  less  powerful  in  heaven  when, 
invoked  under  the  title  of  the  "  Holy 
Dead"  of  Derry;  and  in  private  devotion 
such  invocation  is  not  only  lawful,  but 
commendable.  We  pray  to  the  Saints 
and  Martyrs  of  other  lands,  why  not  to 
the  holy  or  martyred  dead  of  our  own 
land  and  city  ?  Such  prayer  will  help  us 
here  below,  and  will  add  to  their  acciden 
tal  glory  in  heaven. 


SAINT  DOMINIC'S,  DERRY. 


TO    the    Dominican    Priory    be 
longs  the  honour  of  continuing 
the   religious    history   of  Derry 
from    the   martyrdom    of  Ray 
mond   O'Gallagher  until  a  few 
years  before  the  opening  of  the  present' 
Long  Tower  Church. 

We  are  told  by  O'Heyne  that  Reginald 
Joyce,  who  was  Archbishop  of  Armagh 
from  1247  till  1254,  and  who  was  one  of 
those  present  at  the  famous  Bologna 
miracle  in  1221,  when  food  was  miracu 
lously  supplied  to  Saint  Dominic  and  his 
friars,  brought  a  letter  from  Saint  Do 
minic  to  The  O'Donnell,  asking  him  to 
establish  a  branch  of  the  Order  in  his 
dominions.  This  letter  was  long  trea 
sured  in  Irelarrd,  whence  it  was,  about 
1650,  brought  to  Spain,  where  it  was  lost. 
Allemande  and  De  Burgo  doubt  the  au 
thenticity  of  the  letter,  because  they  say 
Saint  Dominic  died  in  1221,  and  the 
Derry  house  was  not  founded  till  1274. 
The  erection  of  the  Priory  buildings 


must,  however,  be  carefully  distinguished" 
from  the  establishment  of  the  Friars  in 
Derry,  which  latter  event  must  have  taken 
place  very  shortly  after  or  about  the  time 
of  Saint  Dominic's  death,  for  in  1230  we 
find  Gervase  O'Carlin,  a  native  of  the 
county  and  a  Dominican  friar,  filling  the 
See  of  DerTy,  which  would  hardly  have 
been  the  case  if  the  Friars  had  not  already 
obtained  some  footing  in  the  locality. 

Gervase's  episcopate  was  a  troublous 
one.  It  lasted  from  1230  till  1279,  and 
during  it  he  not  only  founded  the  Do 
minican  Abbey  of  Coleraine  in  1244,  but 
also  erected,  in  1274,  with  O'Donnell's 
help,  and  on  O'Donnell's  portion  of  the 
island  of  Derry,  the  famous  Dominican 
Priory. 

Where  was  this  Priory  situated  ? 
O'Donovan  answers  "  on  the  north  side  of 
the  city  outside  the  walls"  (by  "  side"  he 
probably  meant  "  northern  half"  of  the 
island ;  however,  it  means  practically  th« 
same  thing).  In  his  manuscript  notes  he 


io4 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


adds,  "  somewhere  between  Walker's 
Monument  and  Butchers'  Gate."  This 
tallies  exactly  with  a  strong  local  tradition 
(which  seems  to  have  escaped  O'Dono- 
van's  attention),  which  locates  the  Priory 
in  Fahan  Street,  near  the  foot.  Such 
location  brings  it  very  near,  if  it  does  not 
actually,  as  I  think,  make  it  coincident 
with,  the  site  of  Saint  Martin's  Shrine, 
which  had  been  burned  in  1203,  and 
never  afterwards,  as  far  as  we  can  learn, 
rebuilt.  Such  a  foundation  as  the  Priory 


one,  of  course,  doubts  that  the  red  sand 
stone  of  the  walls  belonged  to  the  ecclesi 
astical  edifices,  for  it  would  be  absurd  to 
imagine  that  these  stones  were  specially 
cut,  chiselled,  and  carted  from  the  dis 
tant  quarries  merely  to  ornament  the 
Walls  in  bizarre  style. 

Whatever  hesitation  we  may  have  re 
garding  the  precise  site  of  the  Priory,  we 
have  none  at  all  regarding  its  appearance. 
Fortunately,  an  ancient  chalice  belonging 
to  it  is  still  in  existence.  It  bears  the 


CHALICE    FORMERLY    BELONGING    TO    SAINT    DOMINIC  S,    DERRV. 


would  at  once  have  restored  the  ground 
to  "  pious  uses,"  and  would,  at  the  same 
time,  account  for  the  preservation  and 
utilisation  of  the  adjoining  cemetery  till 
such  comparatively  recent  times  that  we 
can  still  identify  its  position.  Moreover, 
we  know  that  the  stones  of  the  religious 
houses  were  used  for  the  building  of  the 
City  Walls.  Now  that  portion  of  the 
Walls  just  above  the  site  of  Saint  Martin's 
sanctuary  is  particularly  rich  in  red  sand 
stone  blocks,  which  were  evidently  taken 
from  some  very  contiguous  building.  No 


following  inscription  in  Latin  :  "  Dominic 
Connor,  Prior  of  the  Convent  of  Friars 
Preachers,  Derry,  caused  me  to  be  made 
in  1640."  Now  that  was  exactly  thirty- 
one  years  after  the  original  Priory  had 
been  tumbled  by  the  Londoners ;  so  that 
there  must  have  been  persons  still  living 
who  remembered  it.  A  rude  gravure  of  it 
appears  on  the  base  of  the  chalice. 
From  that  gravure  we  learn  that  the 
Priory  was  a  castellated  building  of  four 
stories  high,  flanked  by  square  towers, 
and  showing  two  other  turrets  or  towers 


SASSOFARRATO,    PINX. 

SAINT   DOMINIC. 


OUR    LADY    OF    THE    ROSARY. 


SAINT    BRIDGET   OF    SWEDEN. 


HAVE    RECOURSE    DAILY    TO    THE    QUEEN    OF    THE_ROSARY."— LEO   XIII. 


SAINT  COLUMBA 


in  the  background.  To  the  side  of  the 
right  tower  is  a  dome-covered  building, 
surmounted  by  a  cross,  evidently  the  con 
vent  chapel,  against  which  there  is  a 
lean-to  (apparently  two  stories  high),  with 
a  sloping  roof.  A  similar  lean-to  is  visible 
beyond  the  left  tower.  The  two  front 


friars  are  frequently  recorded  to  have  re 
sided  in  it.  It  was  indeed  a  noble  build 
ing — worthy  of  its  princely  founder, 
O'Donnell. 

Its  numerous  towers — apparently  four 
— so  near  the  Long  Tower,  tell  us  clearly 
enough  why  the  latter  was  called  by  com- 


SA1NT    VINCENT    FERRER 

The  great  Dominican  Saint  \\ho  crossed  from  Scotland  to 

{Ulster  to  visit  the  Irish  houses  of  his  order  in  the 

beginning  o  the  isth  century.) 


towers  fly  pennants,  of  what  kind  it  is  im 
possible  to  make  out,  and  the  two  smaller 
or  more  distant  towers,  or  turrets,  have 
crosses.  The  middle  portion  of  the 
priory  is  obscured  by  the  chalice  cross. 
The  house  seems  to  have  been  a  very 
large  one,  but  certainly  not  too  large 
when  we  reflect  that  as  many  as  150 


parison  The  Long  Tower.     Elsewhere  we 
give  a  block  of  the  chalice. 

Over  the  cross  on  the  chalice  hovers  a 
"  Dove,"  from  which  seven  stars  descend. 
The  nails,  thorns,  and  dripping  blood  are 
very  prominent  on  the  crucifix.  The  out 
side  of  the  cup  is  divided  into  six  panels, 
on  three  of  which  are  engravings.  In  one 


io6 


SAINT    COLUMBA 


is  the  "  Crown  of  Thorns ; "  on  another, 
the  monogram  I.H.S.,  surmounted  by 
three  stars,  and  having  beneath  a  gravure 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  pierced  by  three 
nails.  This,  of  course,  refers  primarily 
to  the  Five  Wounds,  but  we  may  also  re 
fer  it  to  the  Devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart 


introduced  an  image  of  the  Divine  Heart 
into  the  design  for  the  National  Seal, 
which  was  adopted  by  the  confederation 
of  Kilkenny  in  1642. 

The  third  panel  contains  at  the  top  the 
sun  with  a  human  face  (the  Sun  of  Jus 
tice)  ;  immediately  below  it  the  letters 


MARTYRDOM    OF    THE    FRIARS    IN    THE    IJTH    CENTURY,    IN    THE    DIAMOND    OF   DERRY. 


— for  though  1640  was  anterior  to  the  re 
velations  made  to  the  Blessed  Margaret 
Mary,  yet  the  devotion  is  as  old  as  the 
church  itself.  Just  about  that  very  time, 
when  hopes  of  freedom  were  swelling 
high,  a  great  wave  of  devotion  to  the 
Sacred  Heart  broke  over  the  land,  and 


M.R.A.,  which  mean  Maria;  and  under 
neath  them  the  crescent  moon  reflecting 
the  face  of  the  sun  (the  Mirror  of  Jus 
tice)  ;  the  whole  admirably  portraying  the 
thought  of  the  Immaculate  Concep 
tion. 

The  chalice  is  at  present  in  the  College 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


TC7 


Museum,  where  anyone  may  examine  it, 
with  the  permission  of  the  President. 

To  my  mind  this  rare  old  chalice,  once 
held  by  martyrs'  hands,  carries  with  it  a 
message  from  the  past  of  Derry-Columb- 
kille — to  practise  devotion  to  the  Eucha- 
ristic  Heart  and  the  bleeding  wounds  of 
Our  Lord,  and  to  blend  with  it  devotion 
to  the  Immaculate  Conception.  That 
message,  floating  to  us  amidst  Dominican 
memories,  would  furthermore  seem  to  re 
mind  us  of  the  Rosary,  to  the  pious  and 
frequent,  the  personal  and  the  family, 
use  of  which  not  only  Saint  Dominic  and 
Leo  XIII.,  but  also  our  dear  Lady  of 
Lourdes  would  urge  us  all. 

To  return  to  the  Priory.  About  the 
commencement  of  the  i5th  century  Saint 
Vincent  Ferrer  crossed  over  from  Scot 
land  to  Ulster  to  visit  the  convents  of  his 
order.  The  leading  convents  then,  in 
Ulster,  were  Derry  and  Coleraine.  We 
may  now  pass  on  without  delay  till  the 
seventeenth  century,  when  we  find  Saint 
Dominic's  the  very  heart,  and  the  bleeding 
heart  at  that,  of  religious  life  in  Derry. 
Raymond  O'Gallagher  was  sleeping  in  his 
martyr's  grave  at  Killea;  many  of  his 
priests  had  fallen  with  him,  the  rest  were 
fugitives ;  the  Columban  abbey  had 
passed  away,  its  cloisters  were  ruined  and 
tenantless ;  the  last  Dean  of  Derry  had 
become  a  pervert  ;  but  the  Dominicans 


still  lingered  in  the  neighbourhood  and 
kept  burning  the  lamp  of  faith.  We  can 
trace  their  history  in  letters  of  blood  all 
through  the  i7th  and  far  into  the  i8th 
century. 

Some  time  towards  the  end  of  Eliza 
beth's  reign,  the  Friars,  thinking  them 
selves  secure,  gathered  back  into  their 
wrecked  convent  to  the  number  of  33, 
when  all  at  once  as  they  recited  their 
office  the  cry  got  up  "  the  soldiers  are 
upon  us."  32  were  put  to  death :  one 
alone  escaped  to  tell  the  tale.  He  was 
Father  John  Mannin,  or  McQuillan,  as 
his  proper  name  was,  who  swam  the  Foyle 
and  made  for  the  O'Kane  country.  He 
was  back  soon  after  in  Derry,  -but  as  he 
persisted  in  wearing  his  habit  he  was  re 
cognised  and  arrested.  Confined  in  the 
Butcher  Street  Gaol,  he  was  frequently- 
put  on  the  rack  and  cruelly  tortured.  On 
one  occasion,  when  he  was  stretched,  they 
let  him  suddenly  fall.  Fracture  of  the 
spine  ensued,  and  he  was  left  a  helpless 
hunchback.  He  was  then  released  and 
died  in  1637.  Father  Walsh,  O.P.,  May- 
nooth,  to  whom  we  are  very  much  in 
debted  in  Derry  for  his  most  interesting 
articles  on  the  "  Derry  Priory,"  adds,  "We 
hope  that  Father  Mannin,  like  Saint  John, 
though  not  a  martyr  in  the  strict  ecclesias 
tical  sense,  enjoys  a  rich  reward  for  his 
constancy  and  sufferings." 


[      io8     ] 


FATHERS  JOHN  AND  WILLIAM  O'LOUGHLIN. 


AT  the  commencement  of  the 
1 7th  century  the  Prior  of  Derry 
was  Father  John  O'Loughlin. 
His  name  is  sometimes  spelled 
O'Laughan,  or  O'Laighlin,  and 
is  latinised  "  Olvinus,"  but  it  is  evidently 
the  same  name  as  O'Loughlin,  still  so 
common  about  Derry.  It  is  worth  notic 
ing  that  when  Primate  Colton  visited 
Derry  in  1397,  the  Prior's  name  was 
Nicholas  O'Loughlin  (Loughlina).  Mont 
gomery,  the  first  Protestant  Bishop  of 
Derry,  thought  to  pervert  him,  and  had 
many  interviews  with  him.  He  had  him 
released  from  prison  in  the  vain  hope  of 
seducing  him  from  the  faith.  On  his  re 
lease  Father  John  went  into  O'Doherty's 
country,  whence  he  used  to  steal  back  to 
attend  Catholics  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Derry.  Shortly  after  we  find  him  again 
in  prison,  and  on  the  rack  in  the 
Diamond. 

"  His  fellow-captives  bore  witness  that 
they  had  seen  him,  while  in  prayer,  raised 
some  feet  from  the  ground,  and  that  he 
had  afterwards  told  them  that  in  his 
ecstasy  God  had  given  him  an  assurance 
of  salvation,  lest  through  human  weak 
ness  he  might  yield  under  his  excruciat 
ing  torments.  What  a  consolation  and 
edification  it  must  have  been  to  those 
poor  suffering  Catholics  to  have  a  saint 
in  their  midst,  and  what  graces  must  have 
not  have  obtained  through  his  interces 
sion  to  strengthen  them  in  the  day  of 
trial."  His  crown  came  very  soon,  when 
he  was  hanged,  and  his  body  quartered,  at 
the  Market  House,  that  is  the  old  Guild 
hall  in  the  Diamond. 

It  was  before  1608  Father  O'Loughlin 
suffered;  for  in  that  year  his  brother 
Father  William  O'Loughlin  was  "with 
several  secular  priests,  hanged  and  quar 
tered  by  the  English  in  the  Market  place 
of  Derry.  (See  O'Reilly's  "Sufferings 


for  the  Faith,"  from  which  I  have  been 
quoting  at  length.)  He  (Father  William 
O'Loughlin)  was  then  90  years  old. 

Some  confusion  exists  in  the  ordinary 
popular  books  regarding  these  brothers, 
who,  says  Father  Murphy,  in  his  "  Irish 
Martyrs,"  "  deserve  to  be  placed  in  the 
very  forefront  of  our  martyrs."  I  would 
only  add  that  their  intercession  in  heaven 
should  be  much  availed  of — at  least  in 
private  devotion — by  Catholics  in  Derry. 

Saint  Dominic's  gave  many  other  mar 
tyrs  to  the  faith  in  Derry,  and  in  spite  of 
all  persecution  we  find  it  all  through  the 
century  continuiqg  to  supply  priests  to 
the  suffering  people.  Not,  of  course,  that 
there  were  not  others  besides,  for  we  find 
many  such  brief  notices  as  the  following : 
"  Patrick  O'Deery,  a  secular  priest,  suf 
fered  in  Derry  Columbkille  on  January 
6th,  1618;"  and  in  1652,  "Father  Neal 
Loughran,  a  Franciscan,  gave  his  blood 
in  testimony  of  his  faith  in  Derry."  In 
1670,  the  Venerable  Oliver  Plunkett,  the 
Martyr  Primate,  made  a  visitation  of  the 
diocese  of  Derry  and  found  six  friars  in 
Saint  Dominic's,  Derry,  "  of  which 
Patrick  O'Deery  is  superior  and  a  great 
preacher." 

The  accession  of  James  II.  in  1685 
gave  Catholics  a  brief  respite.  Some 
flutter  was  occasioned  in  local  circles  (i) 
by  the  conversion  of  the  Protestant  Dean, 
Manby;  (2)  by  the  appointment  of  a 
Catholic  Mayor  and  Catholic  Sheriffs; 
and  (3)  by  an  order  from  the  Lord  Lieu 
tenant  to  allow  the  Catholics  the  use  ot 
the  Guildhall  for  Mass  on  Sundays,  pend 
ing  the  erection  of  a  church. 

In  1688  we  find  the  Dominicans 
located  within  the  Walls,  and  we  hear  "  a 
friar  delivering  a  most  fiery  sermon  in  the 
Diamond,  in  consequence  of  which  mea 
sures  were  taken  to  rid  the  city  of 
them." 


FATHER  CLEMENT  COLGAN,  O.P. 


IN     1702     we    find    a    Father    Ed 
mund    Colgan    "  wanted"    at    the 
Lifford  Assizes.       Who  he  was   I 
have   not   been   able   to   discover, 
but    most    likely    there  is   a    mis 
take  in  the  name  (or  had  he  both  ?)  of 
Father  Clement  Colgan,  who  was  one  of 
the  Friars  banished  at  the  time  of  the 
Siege.     He  was  arrested  again  in  1702, 
and   thrown  into  the  underground   dun 
geons  of  the  prison,  which  are  still  (1899) 
visible,  but  likely  to  be  soon  destroyed 


by  the  rebuilding  of  the  Misses  Hegarty's 
house.  It  was  in  them  that  Dr.  Cul- 
lenan,  the  saintly  bishop  of  Raphoe, 
whose  tomb  in  San  Gudule  visitors  to 
Brussels  may  remember,  languished  for 
four  years,  until  after  Benburb  Owen  Roe 
exchanged  him  for  some  prisoners  he  had 
taken.  In  those  same  cells  Father  Col 
gan  lingered,  suffering  most  fearfully, 
until,  in  1704,  God  mercifully  ended  his 
torture  by  calling  him  to  heaven. 


FATHER  JAMES   HEGARTY,  O.P. 


AT  the  same  Assizes  we  hear  of 
"  James  Hegarty,  a  Dominican 
Friar,  of  Derry,  being  wanted." 
There  were  three,  if  not  more, 
Fathers  Hegarty  about  Derry 
in  those  days.  The  then  parish  priest 


There  was  a  Father  James  Hegarty,  P.P., 
in  the  diocese  of  Raphoe,  •who  was  killed 
by  a  magistrate  named  Buchanan  in  1715. 
He  is  buried  in  Fahan  graveyard.  Neither 
of  these  answers  the  description.  There 
was  another  James  Hegarty  in  charge  of 


HEGARTY  S    ROCK,    BUNCRANA 
(Where  Friar  Hegarty,  O.P.,  was  martyred). 


was  Roger  Hegarty.  He  lived  near  Mo- 
ville,  and  attended  the  whole  district  from 
Derry  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Foyle. 


Fahan  and  Desertegny,  who  is  still  styled 
in  the  traditions  of  the  place  "  Friar 
Hegarty.''  He  may  be,  most  likely  was, 


no 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


the  man  wanted  at  Lifford.  His  crime 
was  that  having  been  formerly  a  Friar  he 
had  been  holding  communications  with 
them  again.  He  got  registered  under  the 
Queen  Anne  Act  in  1704,  which  fact  is 
rather  difficult  to  reconcile  with  his  es- 
treatment  in  1702,  unless  that  he  had  in 
the  meantime  satisfied  the  authorities 
that  he  was  going  to  shun  the  Friars  for 
the  future.  However,  what  is  certain  is 
that  a  Friar  Hegarty  was  martyred  on  the 
headland,  known  as  Hegarty's  Rock,  near 
Buncrana,  some  time  in  the  first  decade  of 
the  1 8th  century  by  a  Colonel  Vaughan. 
I  leave  Mr.  William  Roddy,  the  accom 
plished  Editor  of  the  "  Derry  Journal," 
whose  photograph  is  given  elsewhere,  to 
tell  the  story  in  a  ballad  which  he  pub 
lished  some  years  ago,  and  which  seems 
to  me  singularly  appropriate  to  the  pur 
poses  of  this  volume. 

HEGARTY'S   ROCK. 

(Reprinted  from  the  Derry   Journal,  June    23, 
1893.) 

[Near  the  town  of  Buncrana,  to  the  seaward  side, 
stands  a  bluff,  bold  and  striking-,  on  the  shore,  and  known 
as  Hegarty's  Rock.  The  tradition  is  that  in  the  Penal 
Days,  near  this  spot,  a  devoted  priest,  Father  (by  some 
called  "Friar")  Hegarty,  dwelt  in  a  cave,  near  the 
humble  cot  of  his  sister,  married  to  one  whose  name  need 
not  be  mentioned.  The  good  priest  kept  the  lamp  of 
Faith  burning  in  those  bitter,  black  days,  and  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  was  offered  up  in  the  O'Doherty  land  and  across 
the  Swilly.  A  light  kindled  on  the  Innishowen  shore 
brought  a  boat  to  take  off  the  minister  of  God  in  time  of 
necessity  or  danger.  The  priest  was  betrayed  by  his 
sister's  husband.  The  beacon  was  "fired,'  was  an 
swered  from  across  the  water,  and  a  skiff  launched. 
Father  Hegarty,  when  the  troopers  were  upon  him — 
he  having  got  timely  warning— leaped  into  the  surge  at 
the  rock,  and  struck  out  to  meet  the  boat.  Colonel 
Vaughan,  in  charge  of  the  troops,  is  said  to  have  pledged 
him  his  honour  that  his  life  would  be  saved  if  he  returned 
to  land.  The  priest  trusted  the  soldier's  word  ;  but  as 
soon  as  he  came  to  the  shore  he  was  sabred,  and  his  head 
was  severed  from  his  body.  His  mutilated  remains  were 
buried  by  reverent  hands  m  the  surface  soil  on  the  crest  of 
the  cliff ;  and  so,  consecrated  by  his  martyr's  dust,  the 
spot  bears  to  this  day  the  name  "  Hegarty's  Rock."] 


Would  you  know  the  story  of  Hegarty's  rock 
That  stands  out  there,  amidst  the  shock 
Of  the  Swilly's  waves 
Where  the  wild  wind  raves, 
And  the  sea  is  plumed  with  tossing  mane, 
As  of  steed  repelled  and  urged  again  ? 

Do  you  start  when  you  see  the  red  at  its  base 
That  is  but  the  blush  of  the  great  sun's  face  ? 

But  the  blood  tint  so, 

Long,  long  ago, 

Crimsoned  the  waters  'round  Hegarty's  Rock 
When   the    trooper's    sword    God's   annointed 
struck. 


Ah,  sad  is  the  tale  that  is  here  to  tell, 

Of  priest,  and  trooper,  and  traitor  as  well — 

A  traitor  found 

On  Irish  ground 

To  sell  for  a  price,  as  Christ  was  sold, 
The  sog garth's  life  for  a  sum  of  gold  ! 

The  time  felt  the  scourge  of  the  Penal  Laws, 
And  death  was  reward  for  the  true  to  the  cause  ; 

For  then  outlawed 

Our  country  and  God, 
And  the  priest  like  the  wolf  had  a  price  on  his 

head, 
To  be  tracked  like  a  beast,  caught  live  or  dead. 

But  fierce  as  fire  though  the  foemen's  hate, 
And  bitter  and  cruel  the  martyr's  fate, 

The  priest  was  known 

In  Inishowen ; 

And  Mass  was  said,  and  in  mountain  and  glen 
The  Redeemer  s  message  was  given  to  men. 

And  loved  amongst  all,  the  best  was  he, 
Who  bore  the  name,  Friar  Hegarty, 

By  a  cliff  near  the  wave, 

In  a  lonesome  cave, 

He  had  his  refuge,  and  was  safe  content, 
Till  a  varlet's  greed  the  soldiers  sent. 

In  the  night  they  sped  from  Buncrana's  town, 
With  sabre  and  bayonet  to  bear  him  down— 

But,  hark,  the  cry  : 

"Up,  Father,  fly!" 

Rings  wild  and  clear  o'er  the  billows'  boom, 
And   a  signal    light   cleaves    the   night's  deep 
gloom. 

Soon,  soon  the  answering  torch  is  flashed, 
Through  the  seething  surf  a  skiff  is  dashed, 

The  priest  to  save, 

Or,  share  his  grave : 
On,  on  they  strive,  with  vig'rous  oar, 
Brave  hearts,  set  out  from  the  Fanaad  shore. 

But  vain  their  effort,  nobly  done  ; 
The  priest's  career  on  earth  seems  run. 

On  neighbouring  sward, 

There's  marching  heard! 
One  look  behind — the  Redcoats  come  ; 
One  look  before— the  wild  sea's  foam 

Yet  not ;  not  yet  the  sleuth-hound  band 

Have  seized  their  prey:  He's  leaped  from  land  ! 

Swimming  away, 

How  bravely, 

To  reach  the  speeding  prow  afar, 
Safe  from  the  fangs  of  the  dogs  of  war. 

Now  lanterns  gleam  on  the  grey  sea's  breast — 
Look  ;  the  brave  priest  bears  on  the  breaker's 
crest, 

Striving  amain, 

The  skiff  to  gain. 

Will  they  pierce  him  now  with  musket  ball, 
Or  leave  to  the  treacherous  waters,  all  ? 

No ;  surer  the  stealthy  Vaughan's  plan, 
No  carbine's  pointed,  nor  stirs  a  man. 

For  pledge  he  gave 

His  life  to  save  ; 

A  soldier's  honour  on  a  soldier's  sword  ; 
And  the  priest  returns  to  Vaughan's  word. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Ill 


But  better  to  sink  'neath  the  shrouding  foam. 
With  his  heart  the  deadly  bullet's  home ; 
The  coward  blow 
Of  false,  foul  foe 

Meets  the  trusting  priest,  with  murderous  shock ; 
And   the   soggarth's   blood   chrisms    Hegarty's 
Rock. 


So,  this  is  the  story  of  Hegarty's  Rock, 
That  stands  out  there  amidst  the  shock 
Of  the  Swilly's  waves 
Where  the  wild  wind  raves, 
And  the  sea  is  plumed  with  tossing  mane, 
As  of  steed  repelled  and  urged  again. 

Stay,  friend,  tread  light  on  the  sacred  sod, 
'Tis  the  grave  of  a  martyr- priest  of  God. 

WM.  RODDY. 


In  1756  De  Burgo,  the  Dominican  his 
torian,  visited  Berry  and  found  nine  friars 
there.  Five  of  them  were  named  Doherty 
(Vincent,  John,  Dominic,  George,  and 
Peter).  The  others  were  Fathers  Antony 
M'Crory,  James  Murray,  Dominick 
M'Egan,  and  John  Davitt. 

From    the    Dominican    Archives    w? 


learn  that  in  1767  there  were  still  five  of 
these  attached  to,  but  not  resident  in,  the 
Derry  house.  They  were  all  in  various 
parishes,  except  Fathers  Vincent  and 
Dominick  Doherty,  who  served  Derry. 
We  can  only  trace  one  of  the  other 
brothers  Doherty,  who  lived  in  the  ruins 
of  Carrigbraghey  Castle,  Clonmany,  and 
acted  as  parish  priest  till  his  death  in 
1784.  He  was  the  last  of  the  Domini 
cans  of  Derry.  It  was  impossible  for 
them  to  gather  again  into  the  city,  from 
which  the  Bishop,  Dr.  M'Colgan,  had  to 
fly  for  his  life  (1765),  and  hide  in  a  lime 
kiln  at  Muff,  and  into  which  his  successor 
Dr.  McDevitt  was  not  able  to  enter  for 
many  years.  Here  we  must  close  for  the 
present  this  too  brief  record  of  the  great 
and  justly  famed  Dominican  Priory  of 
Derry,  but  we  are  not  without  hopes  of 
being  able  to  enlarge  it  in  the  future  as 
more  information  becomes  available  con 
cerning  these  noble  heroes  of  the  Cross. 


PIETA,    BY    THE    DOMINICAN    FRIAR,    FRA    BARTOLOMMEO. 


[         "2          J 


THE    LONG   TOWER   OF    DERRY. 


BEFORE  me  stands  in  maiden  pride  the  "  City 

on  the  hill," 
The   gift   of  Animire's    royal    son  to    sainted 

Columbkille ; 
Where  Calgach  erst  the  art  of  war  his  dauntless 

heroes  taught, 
Aud   eager  youths   the  Druid's  lore  within  its 

oak-groves  sought ; 
Where    rose    in   happier   times   the   towers   of 

Co  umb's  blessed  abode, 
Within  those  cloisters  fresh  and  bright  the   fire 

of  fervour  glowed  ; 
Where  matin  hymn  and  vesper  prayer  re-echoed 

thro' the  grove, 
And  pagan  rites  gave  way  to  faith,  and  hate  was 

turned  to  love. 


'Twas  there  the  bloody  Norseman  s  power  was 

crushed  with  slaughter  dire, 
And    widowed    Danish    mothers    wept     fierce 

Niall  and  Murchadh's  ire, 
And   Norway's    daughters  looked   in  vain  for 

those  who  left  her  shore 
To  plunder  Erin,  but  were  doomed  to  see  their 

homes  no  more. 
'Twas    there   died    Ardgar's    kingly    son — the 

people's  hope  and  pride — 
Who  ruled  from  Malin's  rocky  coast  to  Bantry's. 

angry  tide  ; 
There   Munster's   Queen   in  pilgrim's   garb^re- 

signed  her  soul  to  God, 
Well  pleased  to  rest  within  the  soil  by  Columb's 

footsteps  trod  ! 


THE    word     "  Deny"     may     be 
spelled       either       "  Derrie," 
"Daire,"  or  "  Doire."     It  means 
an  oakgrove,  and  occurs  pretty 
often  in  the  formation  of  Irish 
names  of  places  or  persons.     Kildare,  for 
example,   means   "  kil"   the   church,  and 
"  dare"  of  or  under  the  oaks.     From  the 
same  root,  too,  Sampson  tells  us  (page 
462)  the  not  uncommon  name  of  Doherty 
is  derived.     "  The  ancient  chieftains  of 
the  western  bank  of  the  Foyle  were  called 
Hy-daher-teagh,  that  is,  chiefs  of  the  oak 
houses ;    this  name,"   he  adds,   "  is   now 
written  O'Doherty."       There   was,    how 
ever,  another  tribe — which  has  the  same 
name    now — but    whose    original   name, 
O'Morgair,  the  same  as  Saint  Malachy's, 
was    changed    to    Doherty    about    Saint 
Malachy's  time. 

Before  Saint  Columba  got  it,  the  island 
of  Derry  was  called  "  Daire-Calgach,"  to 
distinguish  it  from  similar  groves  else 
where.  This  Calgach  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  Galgacus,  who  figures  so 
bravely  and  prominently  in  the  pages  of 
Tacitus,  the  Latin  historian. 

In  course  of  time  it  became  known  as 
Derry-Columbkille,  which  glorious  name 
it  retained,  until  the  Londoners  came, 
when  they  lopped  off  the  Saint's  name 
and  prefixed  "  London."  Popular  usage 
has,  however,  reverted  to  the  shorter  form, 


and  one  nowadays  rarely  hears  any  other 
name  for  our  city  than  Derry. 

Till  the  1 7th  century  the  whole  his 
tory  of  Derry  clusters  round  the  Long 
Tower.  The  Tower  itself  was  the  belfry 
of  the  abbey  church.  As  it  remained 
standing  through  all  the  city's  storms  and 
changes  till  after  the  siege  of  1689  (when 
it  was  pulled  down  to  furnish  material  for 
the  repair  of  the  Walls)  it  came  to  be  re 
garded  as  a  monument  of  ruined  monas 
tery  and  desecrated  churches,  and  so  its 
very  name  became  synonymous  with  all 
that  was  illustrious  and  pious  in  the  days 
gone  by.  Through  the  ages  of  persecu 
tion  the  name  still  clung  to  the  old  site, 
and  is  still  the  popular  title  for  Saint  Col- 
umba's  present  church,  though  now  no 
Tower  at  all  graces  its  venerable  masonry. 

The  graveyard  opposite  the  schoolgate 
was  only  formed  in  the  last  century,  and 
covers  most  likely  the  site  of  the  original 
Tower,  which  was  detached  both  from 
the  abbey  church  and  the  Templemore. 
In  the  original  charter  of  Derry  it  is  called 
"  Columbkille's  Tower."  But  here  a 
question  arises :  Was  it  built  by  that  great 
saint  himself,  or  did  it  merely  bear  his 
name  ?  Dr.  Petrie,  whose  authority  is 
indisputable,  thinks  the  erection  of 
Round  Towers  in  connection  with  Col- 
umban  Abbeys  can  be  clearly  gleaned 
from  Adamnan's  Narrative.  We  may, 


•S  WHO   ASSISTED  DURING  THE   NOVENA,   OR   WERE  PRESENT  AT  THE  CELEBRATIONS,    l897- 


2.  Rev.  Jairi2s  Connolly,  P.P.,  Urnev 

A     ,     ,     R        „,  '•  Rl^ 

4-   Late  Rev.  EdwarJ  McKenna,  P.l>. 


. 
Rev'  Consignor  O'Hagran,  P.P.,  V.F.,  Strabane. 


3.   Rev.  John  McConalogue,  P.P.,  Killeter 


o        ,  ,      .,  „,, 
5.   Rev.  John  McElhatton,  C.C     Strabane 


PAINTED  BY  RAPHAEL. 


IN  THE  POPE'S  GALLERY. 


OUR    LADY    OF    FOLIGNO. 


Ask  the  Virgin  Mother,  through  St   John  the  Baptist,  for  the  Suppression  ot  Intemperaa 
Throu-h  St!  Francis,  for  greater  devotion  to  the  Passion. 
Through  St.  Jerome,  for  the  grace  of  good  Confessions. 


MARTYRDOM    OF    SAINT    CECILIA. 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


therefore,    fairly    infer    that    the    Long 
Tower    was    not    merely    a     Columban 


Before  we  go  any  further  a  word  must 
be   said   about   the  cemetery,   where   so 


On  tW  site  at  present  occupied  by  the  Long  Tower  Church,  perry,  St.  Columba  said  his  first  Mass  in  Derry, 
I  August,  546.     The  Holy  Sacrifice  has  been  almost  without  interruption  offered  on  the  same  spot  ever  since  : 


monument,  but  was  actually  built  by  the 
Saint  himself,  or  at  least  under  his 
supervision. 


many  of  the  saints  and  great  men  of  old 
lie  buried,  "  Content  to  rest  beneath  the 
soil  by  Columba's  footsteps  trod."  The 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


ancient  monuments  were  all  uprooted  by 
the  Londoners,  and  are  now  embedded  in 


and  is  of  one  John  Rigat,   or  Redgate. 
Towards  the  close   of  the  last  century, 


first  in  the  Dubh-Refdes,  then  in  the  Templjmore,  and  afterwards  in  its  ruins  ;  finally,  1200  years  after 
I^Columba's  first  Mass,  we  find  Father  John  Lynch  celebrating-  under  the  Hawthorn 
r      *.  li  trees'  UP  tiU  the  opening  of  the  present  church,  in  1786. 


the  Walls  of  the  city.     The  oldest  stone 
in  the  yard  only  bears  ,he  date  of  1609, 


Alderman    Hogg   had    a   roadway   made 
through    the     ancient     portion     of     the 


n6 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


cemetery,  dividing  it  into  two  parts.  The 
saints  were,  however,  as  we  glean  from 
the  obit  of  Saint  Maurice  and  his  nep 
hews,  buried  in  or  beside  the  abbey 
chapel.  Indeed,  the  soil  of  the  yard 
about  the  Calvary,  when  one  goes  down 
past  the  detrita  about  four  feet,  is  simply 


human  bones  and  human  dust.  All 
around  the  present  church,  then,  the  dead 
of  thirteen  centuries  lie  waiting  the  resur 
rection;  and  ever  and  anon  their  voices 
come  to  us  down  the  ages,  "  Have  pity  on 
me,  at  least  ye  my  friends,  for  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  hath  touched  me  heavily." 


THE  HOL^  DEAD  OF  THE  LONG  TOWER. 


THERE   is    not  in  holy  Ireland  a 
more  reverend  spot  than  the  Old 
Long   Tower  and   its   grounds, 
lona  is  famed  because  of  Col- 
umba's  residence  therein.      All 
admit  the  truth  of  Johnson's  saying  that 
the  man  is  not  to  be  envied  whose  piety 
would  not  grow  warmer  amongst  its  ruins. 
But   what   thought   he,   the   great   Saint, 
whose  presence  alone  made  it  what  it  is  ? 
Did  he  not  prefer  Deny  even  to  lona  ? 
And  where  in  Derry  had  he  left  his  heart, 
save    in    the    old    Long    Tower,    within 
whose  church  the  happiest  moments  of 
his  life  were  spent  ?     To  it  his  thoughts 
Avere  ever  turning ;  even  from  heaven  he 
wished  to  visit  it  again ;    for  what  else 
meant  that  deep  sigh,  dug  up  from  the 
depths  of  his  heart,  "  My  soul  I  leave  to 
Derry." 

But  Columba,  though  the  greatest,  was 
not  the  only  saint  who  loved  that  dear  old 
spot. 

In  the  "  Trias  Thaumaturga,"  Colgan 
bears  the  following  testimony  to  its  hal 
lowed  dust,  and  to  the  saintly  heroes  who 
loved  it  for  Columba's  sake,  and  by  their 
love  have  made  it  still  dearer  to  us. 

"  Amongst  the  Derry  saints,"  he  says, 
"  are  to  be  counted  not  only  the  twelve 
who  went  with  Columba  to  lona,  and  the 
great  multitude  of  others  who  afterwards 
followed  him  from  Derry  to  share  his 
work  in  Albion,  but  also  a  crowd  of  his 
sainted  kinsmen,  who  flocked  to  Derry, 


and  there  rest  in  peace  in  the  Dubh- 
Regles.  There  were  also  many  other 
saints  connected  with  Derry,  of  whom  I 
give  a  list  below,  with  their  Feast  days, 
mentioning,  however,  only  those  who  are 
either  (i)  buried  in  Derry;  (2)  who  died 
in  its  monastery ;  or  (3)  who  went  from  it 
like  Columba,  to  work  elsewhere  for 
God." 

(This  list  was  extracted  by  Colgan  from 
the  Calendar  observed  in  lona.  Those 
actually  buried  in  Derry  are  marked 
by  a  *.) 

St.  Adamnan,  September  23. 
*St.  Alban. 
*St.  Aengus. 
*St.  Baithen  Abbot  of  Derry,  November  29. 

St.  Baithen,  Abbot  of  lona,  June  g. 
*St.  Bran,  May  18,  Nephew  of  St.  Columba 
*Blessed  Cormac,  September  6. 

St.  Ciarnan. 
*St.  Ceatta. 
*St   Covran,  August  2. 

St.  Coffey,  July  30. 

St.  Columbcrag,  September  22. 
*St.  Colch. 

St.  Diarmid  of  lona. 
*Dermott,  Abbot  of  Derry,  October  12. 
*Blessed  Duffy,  June  2. 
*Blessed  Edwina,  Queen  of  Munster.f 

St.  Eochy,  January  20. 

St.  Ernan,  August  18. 

*Blessed     Eugene     O'Kearney,     Abbot,     De 
cember  15. 

St.  Fetchuo  (Finian),  July  23. 
*Blessed  Finnagh,  November  14. 
*Blessed  Flathbert  O'Broclain 

St.  Gelasius,  March  27. 
*St.  Grellan,  April  15. 

St.  Lugaid  or  Louis  of  Clonleigh,  March  24. 
*St.  Kinnaed,  November  19. 

t  "  Munster's  Queen,  in  pilgrim's  garb,  resigned  her  soul 

to  God, 
Content   to    rest   within    the   soil   by  Columb's   footsteps 

trod." 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


117 


*St.  Mochley,  April  7. 

*St.  Melbrigid,  February  22. 

Blessed  Mellon,  October  10  (buried  at  Enagh 
Lough). 

St.  Mochonna,  May  3. 

St.  Mocuthemme  or  St.  Lugaid. 

St.  Mocusir. 

Blessed  Melcolumb, 
*Blessed  Melfinnian,  February  6. 
*  Blessed  Murcherty. 
*St.  Maurice,  December  28. 
*St.  Maurice  O'Coffey,  February  10. 

St.  Oran  (Monk  of  Derry),  October  27. 

St.  Russen,  April  7. 

St.  Scanlan,  May  3. 

St.  Foranan,  October  29. 

The  fact  that  so  many  saints  lie  buried 
within  the  precincts  of  the  old  church 
yard  should  enhance  its  sanctity  very 
much  in  the  estimation  of  Catholics.  We 
reverence  the  graves  of  the  illustrious 


dead — of  the  poet,  the  patriot,  and  the 
orator.  How  much  more  ought  we  not 
revere  the  ashes  of  the  Heroes  of  ffie 
Cross,  the  crowned  saints  of  heaven. 

The  ground  within  the  Colosseum  is 
sacred,  because  once  soddened  with  the 
blood  of  martyrs.  So,  too,  the  soil  of 
the  old  Long  Tower  yard  is  hallowed,  for 
saints  have  trodden  upon  it;  their  dust 
mingles  with  its  soil.  With  gentle  and 
reverent  footstep,  then,  let  us  move  across 
their  graves  towards  the  altar,  where 
Jesus  lives  and  loves.  And  even  while  we 
think  of  the  triumphant  dead,  let  us  not 
forget  those  other  "  holy  dead"  whose 
souls  are  still  suffering  and  crying  for  our 
help. 


SAINT    BRAN,    MAY    i8xH. 


TO   one   saint   above  all   the   rest 
in  the   foregoing  list,    I   would 
call    the    special    attention    of 
those   who   frequent   the   Long 
Tower  Church,  and  advise  them 
often  to  pray  to  him.  I  mean  Saint  Bran, 
the  favourite  nephew  of  Columba,  a  most 


distinguished  saint  in  his  day,  who  was 
sent  to  found  and  govern  the  abbey  of 
Clane,  in  County  Kildare,  but  who,  when 
he  felt  death  creeping  near  him,  made  for 
Derry,  and  there  died  on  the  i8th  May, 
and  was  buried  just  outside  the  abbey 
church. 


THE  PRESENT  LONG  TOWER  CHURCH. 


A 


'749; 

ladies 


LONG     with      the      Dominican 
chalice,    given    elsewhere,    are 
two     others ;     one    bears    the 
legend  :   "  Matthew  M'Kenna,  a 
Derry  priest,   had  me  made  in 
the  third  is  "  a  gift  from  the  pious 
of    Templemore,    1845."       Thus 
three  centuries  of  the  Long  Tower  history 


been  in  Moville  for  a  time,  but  the  petty 
persecutions  of  the  Careys  compelled  him 
to  leave.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of 
Lord  Bristol,  whom  he  had  known  on  the 
Continent. 

Happening  to  be  in  Derry  on  the  ist 
August,  1789,  he  was  going  along  the 
street  with  one  of  his  priests  when,  at  the 


DR.    PHILIP    M'PEVITT. 


are    compressed    within    those    chalices. 

The  present  church  was  commenced  in 
1784,  on  the  exact  site,  as  nearly  as  could 
be  made  out,  of  the  Dubh-Regles.  A 
head-rent  of  one  pound  per  annum  still 
connects  it  with  the  adjoining  angle  be 
hind  the  sacristy  which  originally  formed 
portion  of  the  abbey  grounds. 

Dr.  Philip  M'Devitt  was  then  Bishop. 
He  did  not,  however,  reside  in  the  city, 
but  at  Clady,  in  the  Co.  Tyrone,  where 
he  carried  on  a  small  seminary.  He  had 


corner,  they  came  upon  the  municipal 
procession  proceeding  to  the  Protestant 
Cathedral.  Lord  Bristol  immediately  re 
cognised  him,  and  commenced  a  conver 
sation.  Unwilling  to  block  the  onward 
march  of  the  processionists,  Dr.  M'Devitt 
and  his  companion  turned  and  proceeded 
with  Lord  Bristol  as  far  as  Saint  Columb's 
Court.  This  chanced  to  catch  the  eye  of 
the  "  Journal"  reporter,  and  in  the  next 
issue  he  labelled  the  Bishop  and  priest  as 
taking  part  in  the  procession.  The 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


119 


Ordnance  Memoir  copied  from  the  "Jour 
nal,"  and  thus  the  libel  has  been  per 
petuated.  The  real  facts,  as  I  give  them, 
were  gleaned  from  an  eye-witness  (Mrs. 
Hasson)  by  very  reliable  authorities, 
and  have  been  fully  corroborated  from 
various  streams  of  tradition. 

At  the  more  important  centenary  cele 
bration  on  the  1 8th  December  previous, 
no  mention  is  made  of  Dr.  M'Devitt,  or 
any  of  his  priests  taking  any  part,  which, 
indeed,  they  could  not  possibly  have  done 


bonne.  He  lived  in  a  house  off  Fergu 
son's  Lane,  which  is  still  standing,  and 
where  he  used  to  say  Mass  on  very  wet 
Sundays.  Ordinarily  he  said  Mass  under 
the  hawthorn,  where  his  own  tomb  now 
is,  behind  the  baptistery.  Sometimes, 
however,  the  Mass  was  at  Ballymagroarty. 
Oftentimes  the  people  had  to  go  to 
Aileach,  or  even  to  Eskaheen. 

In  1782  the  Volunteer  movement 
stirred  the  air,  and  scattered  for  a  time 
the  clouds  of  persecution.  Dr.  Lynch 


OLD    SEMINARY    AM)    BISHOP'S    HOUSE,    F1RC.USON"'S    LANE,     DERKY 


on  either  occasion,  inasmuch  as  the  cele 
bration  was  largely  a  religious  one  and 
held  chiefly  in  the  Protestant  Cathedral. 

By  the  kindness  of  Mr.  James  M'Glin- 
chey,  J.P.,  Redford  House,  I  am  enabled 
to  reproduce  a  portrait  of  Dr.  M'Devitt, 
from  an  oil-painting  in  his  possession. 

Dr.  M'Devitt  was  bishop,  but  not  P.P. 
of  Derry.  That  position  belonged  to 
Father  John  Lynch,  a  native  of  Balteagh, 
Dungiven,  who  was  a  D.D.  of  the  Sor- 


determined  to  build  a  church,  and  the 
first  evening  he  went  out  to  collect  he 
had  ^500  back  with  him. 

Lord  Bristol  gave  ^200,  and  the  Cor 
poration  £50.  Referring  to  the  latter 
gift,  I  find  the  following  amongst  the  ad 
vertisements  in  the  "  Journal"  for  April 
i5th,  1783:  — 

Wherea?  the  gentlemen  of  the^  Corporation 
of  the  City  of  Londonderry  in  Common  Council 
assembled  on  the  yth  day  of  April,  1873 ,  actuated 
by  principles  of  humanity  and  benevolence 


I2O 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


peculiar  to  themselves,  having  taken  into  con 
sideration  the  uncommon  hardships  that  their 
Roman  Catholic  neighbours  have  laboured 
under  for  a  long  series  of  years,  by  being  exposed 
to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  during  the 
time  of  public  worship,  and  having  unanimously 
and  most  generously  resolved  to  grant  a  sum 
of  not  less  than  ^50  sterling,  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  chapel  for  their  use.  We,  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  Derry,  do  think  ourselves  called 
upon  to  testify  in  the  most  public  manner,  the 
deep  sense  of  gratitude  that  we  shall  ever 
entertain  for  so  very  humane  and  liberal  a 
donation,  which  we  deem  to  be  the  more 
laudable  in  itself  and  more  honourable  to  the 
Corporation  as  it  was  unsolicited  on  our  part. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
Derry, 

JOHN  LYNCH,  P.P. 


the  corner.  The  altar  was  then  where 
the  men's  aisle  door  is  now.  This  Father 
Gallagher  was  popularly  known  as  "  Lec 
tor."  He  died  on  the  i3th  January, 
1806,  and  is  buried  in  the  same  grave 
where  Father  James  M'Donough  was  in 
terred  in  1874,  just  outside  the  baptis 
tery.  Unfortunately,  the  traffic  has  com 
pletely  obliterated  the  inscription  from 
his  stone. 

In  1 810-12  the  nave  and  galleries  were 
added  and  the  altar  changed  to  its  pre 
sent  position.  The  four  capitals  on  the 


FATHER  ELLIOT'S  GRAVE,  LONG  TOWER. 


The  church,  which  comprised  the  pre 
sent  aisles  only,  was  not  quite  finished 
when  Father  Lynch  died  on  December 
2oth,  1786.  As  he  wished,  however,  to 
be  buried  under  the  hawthorn  where  he 
had  so  often  celebrated  Mass,  a  hurried 
effort  was  made  to  open  the  building,  and 
the  first  sermon  was  preached  by  Father 
Francis  Gallagher,  who  stood  on  a  pile 
of  stones  which  the  workmen  had  left  in 


altar  columns  were  brought  from  Italy  by 
Lord  Bristol  for  the  palace  he  contem 
plated  building  at  Ballyscullion.  When 
that  project  was  abandoned  they  were 
sold  to  the  Long  Tower. 

Two  subscription  lists  were  opened, 
one  amongst  Protestants  alone,  which 
realised  .£312  ;  and  the  other  confined  to 
Catholics,  which  amounted  to  .£821.  Dr. 
Knox,  the  Protestant  Bishop,  a  grand- 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


121 


uncle,  by  the  way,  of  our  late  popular 
member,  Mr.  Vesey  Knox,  contributed 
£50.  The  Corporation  gave  a  similar 
sum,  while  Dr.  Hume,  the  Protestant 
Dean,  gave  ten  guineas. 

Dr.  Lynch  was  succeeded  in  the  parish 
by  the  Rev.  Charles  O'Donnell,  a  nephew 
of  the  Bishop  and  Dean  of  the  Diocese. 
He  succeeded  Dr.  M'Devitt  (who  is  buried 
at  Fahan)  as  bishop  in  1797,  and  residing 
himself  where  Father  Lynch  had  lived, 
opened  a  small  seminary  in  the  adjoining 
houses,  which  was  carried  on  for  several 
years,  and  where  many  of  the  older  priests 
of  the  last  generation  received  their  full 
course  of  instruction,  both  classical  and 
theological. 

In  1817  Father  Daniel  M'Colgan  was 
about  to  be  appointed  coadjutor  by  the 
Holy  See  when  he  died  of  cholera  on  the 
3rd  January,  1818.  He  is  buried  with 
his  uncle,  Dr.  O'Donnell,  opposite  the 
church  door. 

In  1819  Dr.  Peter  M'Laughlin,  Bishop 
of  Raphoe,  was  transferred  as  Apostolic 
Administrator  to  Derry.  He  immediately 
began  improvements  about  the  Long 
Tower.  In  1820  he  built  the  sacristy 
(;£io i);  boarded  the  floor,  which  had 
been  earthen  up  till  that  (^51);  and  in 
the  following  year  had  the  church  ceiled 
(^105).  Subsequently  he  had  the  gal 
leries  completed,  but  they  are  not  indeed 
very  satisfactory  yet.  In  1833  the  organ 
was  erected  (^324),  and  in  1835  the  re 
mains  of  the  famed  thorn  shrubbery  were 
removed  from  the  yard.  In  1837  Dr. 
John  M'Laughlin,  his  nephew,  was  named 
Coadjutor  against  the  express  wish  of  the 
Bishop,  who  was  a  most  able,  energetic, 
and  truly  pious  man.  He  died  August 
1 8th,  1840,  and  is  buried  just  behind 
Father  Elliot's  grave. 

D'Arcy  M'Gee  tells  us  in  his  Story  of 
Ireland  that  in  1829,  a  strange  but  well- 
authenticated  incident,  struck  with  a 
somewhat  superstitious  awe,  both  Pro 
testants  and  Catholics  in  the  North  of 
Ireland.  "  A  lofty  column  on  the  Walls  of 


Derry  bore  the  effigy  of  Bishop  Walker 
(who  fell  at  the  Boyne),  armed  with  a 
sword,  typical  of  his  martial  inclinations 
rather  than  of  his  religious  calling.  Many 
long  years,  by  day  and  night,  had  his 
sword  turned  its  steadfast  point  to  the 
broad  estuary  of  Lough  Foyle.  Neither 
wintry  storms  nor  summer  rains  had 
loosened  it  in  the  grasp  of  the  warlike 
churchman's  effigy,  until,  on  the  i3th  day 
of  April,  1829,  the  day  the  royal  signa 
ture  was  given  to  the  Act  of  Emancipa- 


DR.    EDWARD    MAGINN. 


tion,  the  sword  of  Walker  fell  with  a  pro 
phetic  crash  upon  the  ramparts  of  Derry, 
and  was  shattered  to  pieces." 

Of  the  priests  who  so  faithfully  served 
the  Church  in  Derry  during  the  present 
century  I  need  not  speak.  Of  some  T 
have  been  able  to  procure  photographs, 
which  I  have  had  reproduced,  but  a  de 
tailed  history,  or  even  tabulated  list  is  be 
yond  my  scope  at  present. 

In  the  sanctuary,  over  the  vestry  doors, 


122 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


are  monuments  to  two  most  deserving 
priests,  who,  though  they  died  y  >ung  and 
long  ago,  are  yet  spoken  reverently  of  by 
many  who  never  saw  them,  Fathers  Hugh 
Monaghan  and  William  M'Donough,  both 
of  whom  fell  victims  to  duty  in  the  great 
cholera  visitation  of  1838  and  1839. 
May  the  perpetual  light  shine  upon  them, 
and  their  help  be  with  us  to-day. 

In  1846  on  January  i8th,  Dr.  Maginn 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Orthosia  in  the 
Long  Tower.  Dr.  Murray,  late  of  May- 
nooth,  preached  on  the  occasion.  I  need 


REV.    WILLIAM    ELLIOTT.    C.C. 

not  dwell  on  the  events  of  Dr.  Maginn's 
stirring  episcopate,  how  it  fell  within  the 
famine  years,  and  how,  to  Cabinet  Minis 
ters  and  other  influential  persons,  he  ad 
dressed,  through  post  and  press,  urgent 
and  eloquent  appeals  to  help  the  people. 
His  letters,  pastorals,  and  discourses  were 
of  that  very  loftiest  type  of  eloquence 
which  the  necessities  of  his  people  wrung 
from  a  burning  heart.  He  failed  to  draw 
from  English  statesmen  one  single  ex 
pression  of  sympathy,  one  tender  act  of 
practical  charity.  Their  cynical  heart- 
lessness  almost  drove  him  to  approve  of 


William  Smith  O'Brien's  desperate  strug 
gle  for  freedom.  He  did  his  best,  how 
ever,  to  dissuade  the  Young  Irelanders, 
and  so  spare  the  land  the  greater  pangs  of 
civil  war,  or  hopeless  insurrection.  He 
died  of  fever  before  yet  the  famine  had 
relaxed  its  grip,  on  the  /7th  of  January, 
1849,  and  is  buried  in  Cockhill  Grave 
yard.  Monuments  to  him  and  his  three 
predecessors  adorn  the  walls  of  the  church 
and  remind  us  when  at  prayer  of  the 
claims  the  dead  have  upon  us. 

On  the  9th  November,  1873,  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Saint  Columba's  Total 
Abstinence  Society  was  held  in  the  Long 
Tower  Church.  On  the  same  day  of  the 
month  last  year  (1898)  its  silver  jubilee 
was  celebrated  in  the  same  church,  when 
the  Rev.  Hugh  M'Menamin,  spiritual  di 
rector,  addressed  the  members,  and  after 
wards  gave  benediction.  Later  on  (the 
29th  November)  a  most  successful  re 
union  was  held  in  Saint  Columba's  Hall, 
to  still  further  commemorate  the  event. 

The  founder  of  the  Society  was  Father 
William  Elliot,  C.C.,  a  native  of  the  city, 
who  had  been  educated  at  Louvain,  and 
immediately  after  his  ordination  ap 
pointed  to  a  curacy  in  the  city. 

He  carried  on  the  society  most  suc 
cessfully  until,  in  the  course  of  his  priestly 
functions,  he  caught  typhus  fever,  and 
died  November  i8th,  1880.  "Father 
Elliot  was  signally  a  man  to  inspire  af 
fection  and  confidence.  Amiable  and  un 
assuming  to  an  unusual  degree,  with  a 
matured  judgment  and  the  liveliest  solici 
tude  for  all  who  came  within  the  sphere 
of  his  labours,  and  endued  with  a  zeal 
and  a  perseverance  that  knew  no  limit  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties,  he  was  every 
thing  that  could  be  desired,  either  as  a 
guide,  counsellor,  friend,  or  priest.  He 
was  singularly  blessed  with  a  rare  sweet 
ness  of  manner  and  disposition,  com 
bined  with  a  kind  of  convincing  persua 
siveness  that  attracted,  charmed,  and  sub 
dued.  No  one  could  enter  the  circle  of 
his  influence  without  being  the  better  of 
it." — "  Derry  Journal,"  November,  1889. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


123 


He  is  buried  opposite  the  church  door. 
A  monument  erected  by  the  T.  A.  Society 
stands  over  his  grave.  It  is  a  chaste  and 
graceful  work  in  marble,  by  Hogan,  of 
Rome.  Erin,  holding  the  scholar's  sat- 
chell,  leans  for  comfort  and  support 
against  the  cross.  The  whole  group  forms 
a  fit  symbol  of  the  Island  of  Saints  and 
Scholars,  recalling  the  memories  of  by 
gone  glories,  which  can  never  be  revived 
again  till  temperance  be  practised  as 
Father  Elliot  preached  it. 

In  1890  Dr.  O'Doherty  divided  the 
parish  of  Templemore  into  two  districts, 
Saint  Columba's  and  Saint  Eugene's.  He 
appointed  three  priests  to  the  Long 
Tower,  and  resumed  the  order  of  services 
that  had  been  discontinued  since  the 
opening  of  Saint  Eugene's  Cathedral,  in 
1873.  He  himself  preached  at  the  first 
vespers  held  in  the  Long  Tower  on  Sun 
day,  November  ist,  1890.  Various  im 
provements  and  changes  have  since  taken 
place,  all  too  recent  to  admit  of  chronicl 
ing.  The  "  Stations  of  the  Cross"  (£75} 
were  a  gift  from  Mr.  Michael  M'Laughlin. 
The  stained  windows,  etc.,  were  the  offer 
ing  of  the  Sacred  Heart  Sodality.  Mr. 
Bernard  Hannigan  presented  the  altar 
piece  (^40),  and  an  exceedingly  rich  and 
massive  monstrance  (.^65).  The  ciboria, 
shown  in  the  same  photogram,  were  a  gift 
from  some  of  the  good,  pious  factory 
girls,  of  whom  we,  in  Derry,  are  so 
proud,  and  whose  devotion  and  generosity 
are  known  only  to,  and  can  only  be  fit 
tingly  recorded  by,  the  angels  of  heaven. 

The  picture  of  Our  Lady  of  Good 
Counsel  came  from  Genazzano,  where,  on 
the  z6th  of  April,  1893,  it  was  touched 
en  the  original,  from  which  the  glass  had 
been  removed  for  the  time.  A  plenary 
indulgence  has  been  granted  to  all  com 
municants  in  the  Long  Tower  Church  on 
the  Feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Good  Counsel. 

The  other  days  on  which  our  Holy 
Father  has  been  pleased  to  grant  plenary 
indulgences  to  the  Long  Tower,  thereby 
making  it  a  local  shrine  of  devotion,  are 


the  Feasts  of  the  Discovery  (May  3),  and 
Exaltation  (September  14)  of  the  Cross; 
every  first  Friday  and  first  Sunday  of  the 
month  (no  matter  whether  the1  communi 
cant  be  a  member  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
Sodality  or  not),  and  the  Feast  of  Saint 
Columba  (June  9). 

SODALITIES  AND  SOCIETIES. 

The  Sacred  Heart  Sodality,  Long 
Tower,  was  established  on  the  ist  Friday 
of  September,  1891.  It  has  still  all  its 
work  to  do.  Enrolled  members  are 
expected : 


1.  To  make  the  Morning  Offering. 

2.  To  receive  Holy  Communion  at  least  once 
a  month. 

3.  To  recite  daily  one  decade  for  tthe   Pope's 
intention. 

4.  To  be  frequently  at  week-day  Mass. 

5.  To  be  fervent  and  constant  in  visits  to  the 
Blessed  Sacrament. 

6.  To  go  round  the   "  Stations  of  the  Cross  " 
at  least  once  a  week.  .    -. 

7.  To   wear   the   Medal   of    the  Immaculate 
Conception. 

8.  To  be  invested  in  the  Blue  Scapular  and 
to  recite  often  the  six  Paters,  Aves,  and  Glorias 
for  the  souls  in  Purgatory. 

9.  To  recite  the  Rosary  (five  decades)  often — 
especially   at   wakes   and   during   visits  to    the 
Blessed   Sacrament— if   possible  three    times'a 
week. 


124 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


10.  To  practise  temperance,  and  endeavour  to 
make  others  do  so  too. 

11.  To  fix  a  set  dav  in  each  month  for  com 
munion,  and  to  stick  j^firmly  to  it  for;the  next 
nine  months. 

12.  To  attend  the   Benediction   on    the    first 
Friday  of  the  month  at  7.15  p.m. 

The  Sacred  Heart  Sodality  is  worked 
in  connection  with  the  Association  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  (medal  and 


to  the  Long  Tower.  Mass  is  said  at 
least  once  each  week,  as  well  as  on  First 
Fridays  and  Third  Sundays,  for  the  mem 
bers,  living  and  dead,  of  the  Sodality. 

The   Promoters    are   those   who    have 
charge  of  circles.     Their  duties  are  : 

T.  To  distribute  the  Rosary  tickets. 
2-  To  dispose  of  the  Messenger,  &c. 


Monstrance  presented  by  Mr.  Bernard  Hannigan  to  the  Long  Tower  Church  in 
commemoration  of  Saint  Columba's  Centenary.      Cibona  previously 
presented  by  the  Factory  Girls. 


scapular)  and  the  Rosary  Confraternity. 
All  may  belong  to  the  latter  whose  names 
are  registered,  and  who  say  the  beads  at 
least  three  times  a  week.  The  special  in 
dulgence  for  Rosary  Sunday  is  attached 


3.  To  enrol  new  members   n  the  Sodality. 

4.  To  assist  the  Directors   in  organizing  for 
religious  lectures  in  the  hall,  Novenas,  &c. 

5.  To  advance  local  works  of  mercy  (spiritual 
or  corporal). 

6.  And  generally  to  propagate   Devotion  to 
the  Sacred  Heart   within  their  circles. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


125 


The  Promoters  form  a  Sodality  within 
the  Sodality,  and  have,  as  a  rule,  two 
monthly  meetings,  one  on  the  last  Sun 
day  after  12  o'clock  Mass,  for  the  routine 
matters,  and  another,  as  announced,  each 
month  for  instruction. 


The  Children's  Sodality  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  is  composed  of  school  children 
from  any  of  the  city  schools,  who  meet 
once  a  month  on  some  appropriate  feast 
for  Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
and  who  go  to  Communion  once  a  month, 


VIRGIN  MOTHER  OF  GOOD  COUNSEL,  PRAY  TO  JESUS  FOR  US. 


The  Sodality  in  honour  of  the  Holy 
Angels  is  a  "  circle"  of  children  who  have 
left  school,  and  gone  to  work  from  whose 
ranks  a  choir  is  recruited  to  render  de 
votional  music  at  the  religious  lantern  lec 
ture's  in  the  Hall,  which  are  a  permanent 
feature  of  this  Sodality. 


en    the    Saturday    appointed    for    their 
school. 

I  have  given  these  rules  greatly  in  de 
tail,  inasmuch  as  it  has  been  wholly  for 
the  sake  of  the  Sacred  Heart  Sodality,  and 
to  advance  its  interests,  that  I  have 
penned  this  volume. 


FURTHER   GLIMPSES   OF   DERRY,    COLUMBKILLE. 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  INFANT  SCHOOLS,  LONG  TOWER,  DERRY. 


THESE  schools  were  commenced 
in  1812  by  Father  Mullin  (who 
was  with   O'Connell   the  morn 
ing    he    shot    D'Esterre);    but 
owing    to     local     troubles    the 
building  was  delayed  and  not  completed 
until  1825.     In  January  of  the  following 
year  they  were  opened  as  Catholic  Paro- 


or  girls'  school,  as  the  room  in  which  they 
were  examined  for  Maynooth.  In  it,  too, 
on  Thursday,  the  27th  March,  1828,  a 
banquet  was  given  the  six  priests  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  famous  "  Derry  Discus 
sion."  They  were  Fathers  Francis  Quinn, 
C.C.,  Derry;  Alexander  John  M'Carron, 
P.P.,  Waterside;  Patrick  O'Loughlin, 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  INFANT  SCHOOLS,  LONG  TOWER. 


chial  Schools.  About  the  same  time  a 
Catholic  School  was  also  opened  in 
Molenan.  The  National  Board  was  not 
yet  in  existence,  and  the  new  schools  had 
many  difficulties  to  contend  with.  They 
flourished,  however,  and  did  excellent 
work.  In  1832  they  were  connected  with 
the  Board,  Mr.  M'Closkey  being  their 
first  teacher.  They  have  since  continued 
to  render  most  efficient  service  to  educa 
tion  in  Derry. 

Most  priests  will  remember  the  upper 


P.P.,  Dungiven;  Simon  M'Aleer,  and 
Neal  O'Kane,  Professors  (Ferguson's 
Lane)  Seminary;  and  Edward  Maginn, 
C.C.,  Moville. 

The  "  Discussion"  was  brought  about 
by  the  descent  upon  Derry  of  a  new 
tract  society,  who  were  misrepresenting 
Catholic  doctrines,  and  whose  challenge 
to  a  public  discussion  was  deemed  worth 
acceptance,  because  of  the  opportunity  it 
offered  of  explaining  Catholic  truths. 

The  echoes  of  Dr.  Maginn's  eloquence 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


I27 


on  that  extraordinary  occasion  still  linger 
in  the  ears  of  the  people.  That  the  "  Dis 
cussion"  did  good  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
It  not  only  stayed  for  a  time  the  ravages 
of  proselytism,  but  it  also  raised  very 
much  the  tone  of  public  opinion  amongst 
Catholics,  who  were  all  very  proud  of  the 
part  played  by  the  priests,  with  whom 
their  opponents  confessed  the  victory  un 
doubtedly  rested. 


On  the  day  after  the  discussion  ended, 
a  hasty  banquet  was  prepared,  to  which 
just  exactly  99  guests  sat  down.  John 
Doherty,  attorney,  Butcher  Street,  was 
chairman;  James  M'Elready  and  James 
Meehan,  croupiers. 

In  1893,  when  the  new  schools  had 
been  finished,  these  were  fitted  up  at  a 
cost  of  £700  as  Infant  departments. 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  SCHOOLS,  CHAPEL-YARD,  DERRY. 

SAINT  COLUMBA'S  SCHOOLS,  CHAPEL-YARD,  DERRY. 


JN  the  "Journal"  of  November  22nd 
1893,    we    read    that    "Yesterday 
morning  the   handsome   and   com 
modious  new  schools,  recently  erec 
ted  at  the  Long  Tower,  were  formally 
opened  and  blessed  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
O'Doherty. 

The  children  having  gathered  in  the 
old  schoolrooms  first  paid  a  visit  with 
their  teachers,  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
and  then,  under  the  direction  of  Fathers 
Doherty  and  Boyle,  proceeded  in  proces 


sional  order  to  the  new  buildings,  where 
his  Lordship  and  Father  M'Menamin 
(who  erected  the  schools)  were  awaiting 
them. 

The  girls'  schoolroom,  under  the  charge 
of  Miss  Anna  M'Closkey,  was  first  blessed 
by  the  Bishop,  who  afterwards  addressed 
the  pupils,  teachers,  and  visitors.  He 
expressed  the  pleasure  it  gave  him  to  be 
present  on  such  an  occasion,  whose  event 
certainly  marked  an  era  in  the  history  of 
Catholic  education  in  Derry.  It  was  now 


128 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


a  very  considerable  time  since,  in  1826, 
the  old  schools  had  been  opened.  Dur 
ing  a  very  long  period  there  had  been  an 
honoured  and  most  efficient  teacher  in 
that  school  who  had  done  much  in  the 
cause  of  Catholic  education,  and  it  was 
indeed  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  him 
(the  Bishop)  to  find  a  member  of  the  same 
family  in  charge  of  the  new  school.  He 
trusted  the  success  which  belonegd  to  the 
school  at  present  would  continue  to  in- 


ness  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  as  well  as 
the  historical  associations  of  the  site  and 
surroundings  would  exercise  a  great  in 
fluence  on  their  character  and  studies." 

The  schools  were  then  dismissed  for 
the  day,  and  assembled  for  their  first  day's 
work  in  the  new  schoolrooms  on  the 
Feast  of  Saint  Cecilia,  November  22nd, 
who  thence  shares  with  Saint  Columba 
the  patronage  of  these  excellent  schools, 
and  whose  picture,  by  Raphael,  we  give 


SCHOOL    VISITS    TO    THE    CALVARY,    JUNE    QTH,     1898. 
Saint  Columha's  (Girls')  School. 


crease  and  keep  it  in  a  position  second  to 
none  in  Deny.  His  Lordship  then  blessed 
the  boys'  school  (Mr.  William  Ferguson), 
and  having  congratulated  the  teachers  on 
the  past  record  of  their  work,  referred  to 
the  historical  site  occupied  by  the  schools, 
which  was  once  covered  by  the  great 
cathedral,  or  Templemore,  of  Derry.  His 
Lordship  then  referred  to  the  religious 
education  of  the  children,  and  expressed 
the  hope  and  anticipation  that  their  near- 


elsewhere,  in  conjunction  with  Saint  Au 
gustine's,  after  whom,  as  we  have  said,  the 
later  abbey  was  named. 

The  four  schools,  boys',  girls',  and  in 
fants',  have  now  on  their  rolls  the  names 
of  over  800  pupils.  The  site  is  held  in 
perpetuity,  and  the  net  cost  of  the  build 
ing  was  a  little  over  ^3,000.  A  bust  of 
Saint  Columba  graces  the  front,  aad  the 
schools,  in  every  possible  way,  reflect 
credit  on  his  namo. 


REV.   HUGH    M'MENAMIN,    ADM.,    SAINT    COLDMBA'S,    LONG   TOWER,    DERRY. 


BOY    CHRIST. 
(  Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Herlin  Photographic  Co. ) 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


129 


On  taking  charge  of  the  Long  Tower 
Church  in  1890  Father  M'Menamin  found 
it  necessary  to  undertake  at  once  a  great 
number  of  improvements  and  repairs. 
The  church  had  to  be  seated  and  gene 
rally  overhauled.  The  roof  had  to  be  re- 
slated,  and  a  great  many  expensive  altera 
tions  to  be  made  about  the  sanctuary. 
The  graveyards  were  then  enclosed  by 
unsightly  walls,  which  had  to  be  replaced 


After  that,  the  Infant  Schools  had  to 
be  made  ready.  Father  M'Menamin 
.chose  a  bazaar  as  the  best  means  of 
clearing  his  debt.  The  ladies  of  Derry 
threw  themselves  into  the  preparatory 
work  with  characteristic  energy,  and  the 
first  result  of  their  earnest  labours,  under 
the  patronage  of  Saint  Columba,  may  be 
perceived  in  the  arrangement  of  the  hall, 
just  ready  for  the  bazaar  to  open ;  another 


OLD    LONG    TOWER    BAZAAR,    APRIL,    1895. 


by  graceful  palisades,  and  a  vast  amount 
of  levelling  and  suitable  ornamentation 
to  be  made  within.  Bills  were  gradually 
mounting  up.  Then  came  the  erection 
of  the  new  schools ;  the  site  being  nego- 
ciated  by  Mr.  William  Gallagher,  Fahan 
Street,  who,  to  perpetuate  the  local  fact, 
gave  the  name  of  Templemore  to  the 
street  leading  to  the  schools. 


was  very  visible  in  the  enormous  crowds 
who  nightly  thronged  the  four  stories  of 
the  building,  and  withal  observed  the 
utmost  order,  decorum,  and  good 
humour ;  while  a  third  made  itself  tan 
gible  in  the  effective  disappearance  of  the 
debt,  the  net  result  of  the  effort  being 
considerably  over  ^4,000. 


L    130    ] 


REV.  HUGH  M'MENAMIN,  ADM.,  LONG  TOWER,   DERRY. 


AS  Saint  Columba's  Hall  owes  its 
existence  to  the  brain,  energy, 
and  tact  of  Father  M'Menamin, 
and  as,  moreover,  he  has,  with 
a  refined  appreciation  of  all  that 
s  beautiful  in  olden  things,  chastely  re 
stored  the  old  Long  Tower,  that  spot  dear 
to  modern  Derrymen  as  it  was  to  Col- 


Abstinence  Society,  and  has  been  at  the 
head  of  every  recent  Catholic  movement 
of  importance  in  the  city. 

His  strong  and  clear  evidence  before 
the  "  Commission  on  Manual  Education," 
and  the  part  he  took  in  the  victorious 
elections  of  1895  and  1899  are  too  fresh 
in  the  minds  of  the  people  to  need  any 


SAINT  PATRICK'S  SCHOOL,  BRIDGE  STEEET,  SISTERS  OF  MEECV. 


umba,  it  is  only  proper  that  we  should 
here  say  a  word  regarding  him.  Born  in 
Langfield,  County  Tyrone,  and  educated 
in  Maynooth,  he  has  been  nearly  all  the 
time  since  his  ordination,  in  Derry  and  the 
Waterside.  For  the  past  twenty  years  he 
has  had  charge  of  Saint  Columba's  Total 


further  reference.  Besides  the  Long 
Tower  Schools,  Father  M'Menamin  has 
also  opened  the  "  Hall  School,"  which, 
under  the  charge  of  Mr.  T.  F.  Mullan, 
has  a  large  attendance,  and  gives  great 
satisfaction. 


THE  CONVENT  OF  MERCY,   PUMP  STREET. 


LEAVING  the  Hall,  the  next  ob 
ject  of  Catholic  interest  is  Saint 
Patrick's  School,  Bridge  Street, 
which  was   erected   by   one  to 
whose  work  in  Derry  too  much 
praise    cannot    be    given,    Father    John 
Doherty,  presently  of  Carndonagh.     The 
school    is   in    charge    of   the    Sisters    of 
Mercy,  whose  private  school  in  Artillery 
Street  is  also  admirably  conducted. 


a  most  eloquent  address.  Only  one  of 
the  original  community  is  now  alive,  Sis 
ter  Juliana,  an  aunt  of  Mr.  John  Dillon, 
late  Chairman  of  the  Irish  Party.  The 
convent  has  been  lately  enlarged  by  the 
addition  of  the  former  "  Sentinel"  office, 
which  adjoined  the  old  building,  and  of 
which  the  late  Mr.  James  Colhoun  kindly 
gave  the  Nuns  the  pre-emption.  The 
community,  numbering  about  40,  have  a 


THK    CORTILE,    CONSENT    OF    MERCY,    DEBRY. 


The  Convent  itself  was  originally  the 
County  Inn,  to  which  the  Grand  Jury  and 
the  Corporation  used  to  give  a  subven 
tion.  It  passed  through  various  hands 
into  those  of  Dr.  M'Laughlin,  whose  suc 
cessor,  Dr.  Maginn,  carried  on  a  seminary 
in  it  for  a  time  until,  on  July  22nd,  1848, 
he  brought  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  from  Tul- 
lamore  and  established  them  in  it.  Last 
year  they  celebrated  their  golden  jubilee, 
when  the  Rev.  Philip  O'Doherty  delivered 


branch  house  at  Moville,  and  confine 
themselves  almost  exclusively  to  their 
schools,  where,  like  the  other  teachers 
with  whom  Derry  is  blessed,  they  do 
good  work.  On  Saturdays  and  Sundays 
the  Sisters  visit  the  sick  poor,  wherever 
invited.  The  present  respected  Su 
perioress  is  a  sister  of  Father  White,  to 
whom  we  owe  so  much  for  his  kindness 
to  the  Long  Tower. 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S,  WATERSIDE. 


FROM  the  Convent  we  may  next 
visit    the   Waterside    Church. 
On  the   further  bank  of  the 
Foyle,    near   the   end   of   the 
bridge,  whence  the  new  rail 
way  must,  in  a  few  weeks,  displace  it,  we 
find  a  "  Columbkille's  Well,"  for  which 
Dr.  Stokes,  in  the  "  Survey  Notes,"  tells 
us  Mitchelbourne,  of  Siege  fame,  had  a 


as  P.P.  He  is  generally  spoken  of  as 
"  Archdeacon"  M'Carron.  He  used  to 
say  Mass  in  an  outhouse  belonging  to 
Mr.  Thomas  White,  where  Mr.  Caldwell, 
Duke  Street,  resides  at  present.  The 
congregation  numbered  about  50,  seldom 
as  many  as  80. 

It  is   said   that  the  first  subscription 
given    Father    M'Carron    for    the    new 


SAINT    COLUMBA  S,    WATKKSIDE. 


strange  partiality.  When  living  in  later 
years  at  the  Waterside  he  used  every 
morning  to  visit  the  Well  and  pray  for  a 
while. 

Ardmore  Chapel,  dedicated  to  Saint 
Columba,  was  opened  about  the  same 
time  as  the  Long  Tower,  perhaps  a 
couple  of  years  earlier,  in  1784.  There 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  any  chapel 
or  Mass  nearer  the  Waterside,  until 
Father  M'Carron's  appointment,  in  1827, 


church  was  a  penny  from  a  beggar,  who 
overheard  him  say  he  was  going  to  com 
mence  it  soon.  The  Corporation  voted 
-£io.  The  site  was  given  by  Sir  Robert 
Ferguson.  It  forms  portion  of  the  Friars' 
ground,  which  must  be  carefully  dis 
tinguished  from  the  Friars'  Field,  an 
epithet  of  later  date.  Who  these  Friars 
were  who  have  left  their  name  so  per 
manently  attached  to  the  locality  we 
know  not.  Most  likely  they  were  a 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


'33 


branch  or  "  station"  from  the  great  Fran 
ciscan  Friary  of  Enagh  Lough,  to  which 
the  occupants  held  on  till  after  O'Kane's 
attainder. 

Father  M'Carron  went  across  to  Eng 
land  and  Scotland,  and  collected  for  his 
church,  which  cost  over  ^2,000.  The 
people  of  the  parish  paid  most  generously 
as  is  still  their  wont. 

There  are  not  many  churches  in  Ulster 
as  graceful  in  outline  as  the  Waterside ; 
a  grace  and  proportion  which  Father 
M'Faul  took  good  care  to  preserve  when 
making  a  most  necessary  addition  and 
enlargement  in  1888. 

The  original  architect  was  J.  J. 
M'Carthy,  Pugin's  Irish  rival.  It  was 
opened  in  1840.  Father  Tom  Maguire 
(famed  for  the  discussion  of  Pope  versus 
Maguire)  preached  in  the  morning. 
Father  Boyce,  author  of  "  Shandy 
Maguire,"  preached  in  the  evening.  The 
voices  of  many  other  most  distinguished 
orators,  such  as  Fathers  Mathew  and 
Burke,  have  also  been,  at  various  times, 
heard  from  the  Waterside  pulpit. 

In  1887,  Father  M'Faul,  the  present 
genial  and  esteemed  pastor,  enlarged  the 
church  by  the  addition  of  transepts  and 
a  chancel,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  .£3,000. 

It  was  opened  again  on  May  6th,  1888. 
His  Eminence  Cardinal  Logue  (then  Co 
adjutor  of  Armagh),  a  personal  friend 
and  college  companion  of  Father  M'Faul, 
preached  in  the  morning,  and  Father 
Philip  O'Doherty  in  the  evening. 

The  Parochial  House  was  erected  by 
Father  Edward  Doherty,  P.P.  (he  had 
succeeded  Father  Nugent,  the  successor 
of  Father  M'Carron),  and  the  schools  by 
Dr.  Devlin,  the  distinguished  predeces 
sor  of  Father  M'Faul.  Of  the  latter  we 
need  only  say  that  he  was  born  in  Clon- 
many,  educated  in  Maynooth,  and  or 
dained  in  the  Long  Tower  on  February 
23rd,  1862. 

After  brief  missions  in  Urney,  Ard- 
straw,  Moville,  and  Clonmany,  he  was, 


in  1870,  removed  to  Derry,  where,  in 
1876,  he  was  appointed  Administrator, 
and  in  1881,  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Devlin, 
was  made  P.P.  of  Glendermott  and 
Lower  Cumber,  and  V.F.  of  the  diocese. 
We  give  his  photo  elsewhere,  and  need 
only  add  that  the  sincere  prayer  of  his 
present  parishioners,  as  also  the  hearty 
desire  of  the  people  of  Derry,  to  whom 
he  has  been  known  so  long,  is  "  Ad 
multos  annos." 

There  is  a  most  flourishing  branch  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  Sodality  at  the  Water 
side,  of  which  the  Rev.  Joseph  M'Keefry 
is  the  spiritual  director.  The  statue  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  and  the  candle  shrine 


RE.  JOSEPH  M'KEEFRY,  c.c.,  M.R.I. A., 

WATERSIDE. 

are  the  generous  gifts  of  Mr.  Harkin. 

With  this  visit  to  the  altar,  and  a 
glimpse  at  Saint  Columba's  School,  to 
whose  zealous  and  energetic  teacher,  Mr. 
George  Conaghan,  our  Sodality  owes  a 
great  deal,  more  than  these  pages  can 
fittingly  convey,  we  go  to  explore  a  few 
of  the  Columban  antiquities  of  the 
parish. 

Saint  Columba's  name  is  indelibly 
stamped  upon  the  map  of  the  Waterside. 
Crumkill,  the  name  of  a  townland,  is 
simply  a  corruption  of  Columbkille. 
"  Saint  Columb's  Chapel"  in  Mr.  Cooke's 
demesne,  is  a  most  interesting  little  ruin. 
It  is  situated  on  a  picturesque  knoll,  over- 


'34 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


looking  the  river,  and  embowered  in  a 
grove  that  is  partly,  at  least,  of  oak.  It 
is  the  same  church  as  O'Donnell  says 
was  founded  by  Columba  in  Clooney; 
but  we  learn  from  Colton's  Visitation 
that  its  proper  title  is  Saint  Brecan's,  not 
Saint  Columba's,  which,  read  in  conjunc 
tion  with  the  "  Vita  Quinta,"  means  that 
it  was  built  by  Saint  Columba,  and  sub 
sequently  dedicated  to  the  memory  of 
Saint  Brecan,  who  was  of  later  date  than 
Columba.  This  Saint  Brecan  was  a 
fester,  or  adopted,  child  of  Columba,  the 


had  first  charge  of  this  church.  His 
feast  occurs  on  the  igth  of  July.  An 
ancient  burying-ground,  encircled  by  the 
remains  of  a  ditch,  surrounds  the  ruin, 
so  that  many  more  of  the  saints  may  also 
rest  there  in  peace.  A  "  Holy  Well ''  is 
also  adjacent  to  the  chapel. 

Unfortunately,  we  cannot  say  of  Saint 
Brecan's  that  its  ruins  mark  the  passage 
of  English  foemen,  for  the  despoiler  was 
no  other  than  Nicholas  Weston,  an  Eng 
lish  bishop,  who  held  the  See  of  Derry 
from  1467  till  1484.  His  object  in  de- 


SAINT    COLUMBA  S    SCHOOLS,    WATERSIDE 


sister  of  Saint  Canice.  We  read  in  the 
latter's  life  that  one  day  when  he  went 
to  visit  her  he  missed  the  lad  who  was 
ill  and  in  danger  of  death.  Canice 
prayed  for  him  and  he  recovered,  after 
which  he  became  a  monk,  and  his  name 
is  associated  with  Clonast  Monastery,  a 
branch  in  Queen's  County  of  Saint 
C'anice's  Monastery  of  Achaboe.  He  is 
also  the  Brecan  whose  name  appears  in 
the  word  Ardbraccan  in  Scotland.  His 
festival  is  on  the  nth  of  February. 
Saint  Covran,  Saint  Columba's  nephew, 


molishing  the  venerable  shrine  was  to  pro 
cure  stones  for  the  erection  of  his  palace 
in  Bunseantinne,  which,  says  O'Donnell, 
who  himself  remembered  the  incident, 
the  vengeance  of  God,  at  the  prayer  of 
Columba,  did  not  allow  him  to  complete. 
Though  the  Messrs.  Cooke  have  taken 
every  care  of  the  gables,  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  time  or  storms  will  soon  level  them, 
unless  buttressed  properly. 

Saint  Canice  (October  nth)  too  had 
a  church  near  the  Wa-terside  in  olden 
days.  It  was  at  Dergbruach,  which,  Dr. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


135 


Reeves  says,  was  the  old  name  for  Gran- 
sha ;  more  likely,  however,  it  was  Temple- 
town.  Further  down,  at  Enagh  Lough 
Saint  Columba  had  another  small  monas 
tery,  or  "  station."  Saint  Columb-Crag, 
his  friend  and  disciple,  had  charge  of  it. 
He  died  September  22nd,  and  is  buried 
at  Enagh.  Saint  Mellon,  the  nephew  of 
Saint  Columba,  and  brother  of  the  Saint 
Bran  who  is  buried  at  the  Long  Tower, 


to  the  coast  to  take  boat  for  lona,  that 
the  great  Saint  Fintan  heard  the  news  of 
Columba's  death  from  two  monks  who 
had  just  arrived  from  lona. 

In  later  centuries  a  Franciscan  Friary 
flourished  at  Enagh,  but  of  its  history 
we  know  really  nothing  beyond  the  fact 
that  its  friars  clung  to  the  locality  till  far 
on  in  the  i?th  century.  In  penal-day 
Mass-stones  the  Waterside  abounds,  and 


RUINS    AT    WATERSIDE,    DERRY,    OF    6TH    CENTURY    CHURCH.    FOUNDED    BY    SAINT    COLUMBA,    IN 
HONOUR    OF    SAINT    BRECAN,    AND    POPULARLY    KNOWNt  AS^  SAINT   COLUMBA'S. 


died  on  January  4th,  and  is  also  buried 
at  Enagh.  Saint  Columba  stopped  there 
on  his  way  from  Drumceatt  to  Derry ; 
and  it  was  at  Enagh  Lough,  on  his  way 


only  lately  Father  M'Keefry  has,  with 
commendable  taste,  removed  an  ancient 
cross  from  undesirable  surroundings  to 
the  graveyard  at  Malabouy  Church. 


136 


SAINT   COLUMBA'S    PRESBYTERY. 


FROM    the   Waterside  we   return 
via  Saint  Joseph's  Avenue,  to 
the    Brow-of-the-Hill,       The 
former   was   a   gift   from    the 
Most  Rev.   Dr.   O'Doherty  to 
the    Saint   Vincent   de  Paul    Society   in 
Derry.     His  Lordship  bought  the  ground, 
erected   the   houses,    and   handed    them 
over   by  deed  to   the    Society   in    1897. 


available  under  Mrs.  Dolan's  will  for 
the  night  school,  which  has  since  been 
successfully  carried  on  by  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy. 

Crossing  Bishop  Street  we  are  re 
minded  as  we  glance  at  Bishop's  Gate  of 
the  grim  skulls  that  for  many  a  day  in  the 
1 7th  and  i8th  centuries  surmounted  it. 
Amongst  them  for  12  years  was  that  of 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  PRESBYTERY  TO  LEFT  HAND      TO  THE  RIGHT  is  SAINT  JOSEPH'S  AVENUE. 


They  produce  an  annual  net  income  for 
the  poor  of  about  ^120.  To  the  left  in 
the  photo  block  is  Saint  Columba's  Pres 
bytery,  which,  with  the  adjoining  street, 
was  left  by  Mrs.  Donlan  (R.I.P.),  to  be 
sold,  and  the  proceeds  invested  for  the 
establishment  of  a  night  school  for  fac 
tory  girls.  Dr.  O'Doherty  bought  the 
property,  and  fitted  up  two  of  the  houses 
as  a  presbytery,  into  which  the  Long 
Tower  priests  moved  in  February,  1891. 
The  sum  of  about  ^70  per  annum  is 


Bishop  Heber  M'Mahon,  and  those  of 
the  Dominican  martyrs.  They  were  after 
wards  removed  and  buried  in  the  Long 
Tower. 

Between  the  Gate  and  the  Gaol,  near 
Albert  Street,  once  stood  the  Cistercian 
Nunnery,  which  Turlogh  Lynniagh 
O'Neill,  of  Strabane,  founded  about  1218. 
and  which  he  endowed  with  the  townland 
of  Rossnagalliagh,  where  the  Nuns  had 
a  branch  establishment.  To  our  left 
hand  lies  the  Bishop's  Garden,  where 


VERY  REV.  CHARLES  M'FAUL,  P,P.,  V.F.,  WATERSIDE.  DERKV. 


RAPHAEL,  PINX  ] 


OUR    LADY    OF    THE    VEIL. 
Mother  of  Divine  Grace,  pray  for  us. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


137 


Gervase  O'Carlan,  or  his  successor, 
erected  an  episcopal  palace  in  the  i3th 
century,  and  which,  at  the  Plantation, 
passed  to  the  Protestant  Bishops,  and 
from  them,  in  1897,  at  a  most  fancy- 


price,  and  by  private  tender,  to  the  Cor 
poration,  whose  only  motive  in  buying 
was  to  prevent  it  returning  into  the  pos 
session  of  the  Catholic  community. 


THE    BROW-OF-HILL. 


OX    the    Brow-of-the-Hill    once 
clothed  with  Columba's  oaks, 
we    find    the    Christian    Bro 
thers'  Schools.     The  property 
formerly  belonged  to  an  alder 
man  named  Hogg,  who  had,  with  great 
energy   and   expenditure,    reclaimed   the 
hillside    from    the    quarry    purposes    to 


then  carrying  on  a  seminary.  He  agreed, 
and,  having  enlarged  and  suitably 
adapted  Hogg's  Folly,  removed  his  boys 
there,  and  a  short  time  after  took  up  his 
own  residence  with  them.  "  After  some 
time  the  seminary  was  closed  and  the 
four  new  rooms  were  utilized  as  school 
rooms  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  who,  how- 


NEW    SCHOOLS,    BROW-OF-HILL. 


which  it  had  long  been  devoted,  and 
rendered  it  a  very  charming  spot.  When 
he  first  attempted  his  reclamation  it 
seemed  so  hopeless  that  the  people  dub 
bed  his  residence  and  grounds  "  Hogg's 
Folly,"  a  name  they  still  retain. 

Dr.  Maginn  secured  a  perpetuity  of  it 
in  the  year  1846.  He  intended  it  for  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy.  They,  however,  pre 
ferred  the  residence  of  the  late  Bishop, 
in  Pump  Street,  where  Dr.  Maginn  was 


ever,  continued  to  live  in  Pump  Street. 
Dr.  Kelly  lived  at  the  Brow-of-the-Hill 
for  a  while,  but  when  the  Brothers  came 
on  February  i4th,  1854,  he  gave  them 
his  residence  and  arranged  that  the  Nuns 
should  remove  to  the  new  schools  at  the 
Cathedral,  and  the  Brothers  take  over  the 
rooms  at  the  Brow-of-the-Hill,"  which 
they  have  since  continued  to  occupy  with 
the  most  satisfactory  results  to  religion 
and  education,  and  the  pleasantest  asso- 


138 


SAINT  COLUMBA, 


ciations  and  most  grateful  memories  to 
thousands  of  Derry  boys  at  home  and 
abroad.  The  new  schools,  of  which  an 
illustration  is  appended,  were  afterwards 


added.  The  figure  accidentally  in  the 
foreground  is  Brother  Murray,  a  most 
popular  and  deserving  member  of  an  old 
Derry  family. 


KROW-OF-HILL    GARDENS. 


SENIOR    CLASS,    BROW-OF-HILL.    DERRY. 


[     '39     ] 


SAINT    COLUMB'S    COLLEGE. 


DIRECTLY       adjoining       the 
Christian  Brothers'  grounds 
is  Saint  Columb's  College. 
The  site  was  waste  ground 
when,  towards  the  close  of 
the    last    century,    Lord    Bristol   appro 
priated  it,  procured  a  fee-farm  grant  from 
the  crown,  and  built  on  it  a  Casino  after 
the  Neapolitan  style.     He  had  previously 


south  wing,  at  a  cost  of  about  ^10,000 
for  all.  The  seminary  was  opened  on 
November  3rd,  1879,  under  the  presi 
dency  of  the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  O'Brien,  who, 
however,  merely  lent  his  great  abilities 
and  experience  to  start  the  school,  and 
when  he  had  seen  it  properly  launched, 
he  retired  and  left  the  late  Dr.  Hassan  in 
charge.  Of  the  other  priests  who  have 


SAINT    COLUMB S    COLLEGE,    DERRY. 


commenced  to  build  in  the  Bishop's  Gar 
den,  but  finding  his  personal  title  unsat 
isfactory,  desisted,  and  built  instead  on 
the  present  college  grounds.  To  give 
the  place  a  more  Italian  leok,  he  had  a 
cargo  of  lava  brought  across,  with  which 
he  coped  the  surrounding  walls. 

After  his  death  the  Casino  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  Skipton  (or  Pitt-Ken 
nedy)  family,  from  whose  representatives 
it  was  purchased  for  Dr.  Kelly.  He 
adapted  the  existing  buildings  to  the  re 
quirements  of  a  college,  and  added  the 


left  their  names  written  in  the  successful 
history  of  the  college  we  need  only 
mention  Fathers  O'Neill  (Greencastle), 
M'Closkey  (Buncrana),  and  Mullin  (Don- 
aghmore),  who  were  each  there  for  some 
years,  and  scored  brilliantly  through  their 
pupils  at  the  various  competitive  exami 
nations. 

The  former  drawing-room  of  the 
Casino  is  now  the  pretty  chapel  of  the 
college,  and  occupies  the  centre  of  the 
group.  The  north  wing  was  built  by  Dr. 
O'Doherty  at  a  cost  of  about  j£8,ooo, 


140 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


which  was  subscribed  mainly  by  the 
priests,  who  experience  great  conveni 
ence  from  it  during  their  annual  retreats. 
The  foundation-stone  was  laid  June  3oth, 
1892,  and  the  wing  was  opened  for  the 
reception  of  students  in  September,  1893. 
In  1897-98  the  splendid  group  was 
completed  by  the  addition  of  the  Library, 
Museum,  Baths,  and  other  useful  and 
up-to-date  additions  and  improvements, 
at  a  cost  of  nearly  ^4,000.  We  should 
here  mention  that  the  college  is  under  a 


nothing  remains  for  us  to  say,  except  to 
repeat  that  it  is  in  every  sense,  structu 
rally  and  intellectually,  a  credit  to  the 
city,  and  reflects  lustre  not  only  on  the 
learned  and  earnest  priests  who  conduct 
its  studies,  but  also  to  a  very  marked  de 
gree  on  Dr.  Kelly,  who  founded,  as  well 
as  on  Dr.  O'Doherty  who  has  enlarged 
and  brought  it  to  its  present  state  of 
thorough  efficiency. 

A  feature  of  the  annual  distribution  of 
prizes  at  Saint  Columb's  is  the  Bishop's 


SAINT    COLUMB  S    COLLEGE    CHAPEL, 


deep  debt  of  gratitude  to  Father  Philip 
O'Doherty  for  the  splendid  collection  of 
curios  he  bestowed  upon  the  museum. 
We  understand  that  the  generosity  of 
Australian  friends  supplied  him  with 
most  of  the  rare  specimens  in  the 
museum. 

The  illustrations  tell  clearly  enough 
what  a  beautiful  architectural  pile  Saint 
Columb's  is.  The  records  of  the  various 
examinations — university,  intermediate, 
ecclesiastical,  and  civil  service — speak  so 
emphatically  of  its  educational  work  that 


speech,  which  is  always  looked  forward 
to  with  pleasure.  From  his  remarks  in 
1897  we  cull  the  following  as  a  graceful 
conclusion  to  our  sketch  :  — 

This  year  has  been  to  us  a  memorable  one, 
inasmuch  as  in  it  has  occurred  the  thirteenth 
centenary  of  the  illustrious  saint  whose  name 
our  College  bears,  and  truly  illustrious  Columba 
was, — whether  we  regard  him  as  a  patriot,  a 
scholar,  or  an  Apostle.  The  fact  that  1,^00 
years  have  not  dimmed  the  lustre  of  his  name 
is  proof  of  this,  for  no  other  name  has  ever  been 
imprinted  more  indelibly  on  the  page  of  Irish 
history  than  that  of  this  scion  of  the  royal  race 
of  Niall,  this  glory  of  the  ancient  realm  of 
Tyrconnell.  His  is  a  name  that  is  dear  to  every 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


child  of    Derry,  for   here   was   his   first    great 
monastic    foundation    which    through    life    he 
ever  loved  with  all  the  burning  affection  of  his 
great  and  generous  heart.     Every  wild  flower 
on  the   slopes   of    the   hill  of  Derry    or  every 
quivering  leaf  of  his  oak-groves,  the  very  song 
of   the   birds,    and    the   gentle   surging   of   the 
Foyle  rolling  on  to  the  ocean,  awoke  within  him 
that  spirit  of  love  which  found    vent  in  those 
touching  melodies  that  welled  up  from  the  depth 
of  his  soul,  and  were  embodied  in  verses  which 
have  survived  the  flight  of  ages.     From  the  seat 
of  his  missionary  labours  in  lona,  his  heart  was 
ever  turning  to   the  home  of  his  youth  in  Kil- 
macrenan,  and  to  the  green  island  in  the  Foyle 
where  now    stands   our   ancient   city.     To    his 
mental  vision  it  was  another  Bethel  where  the 
white-robed   angels   of   God  ascended   and  de 
scended  to    and  from  heaven,  and   communed 
familiarly  with  men  on  earth.     Beautiful  were 
the  Hebrides,  glorious  were  the  mountains   ol 
Scotland,  but  all  were  nothing  in  his  estimation 
compared    to    Erin, — and    above    all   to    that 
favoured  spot  where  his  church  stood  beneath 
the  oak  trees  shade  in  Derry.    St.  Columba's  was 
a  personality  that  could  not  be  obliterated,  and 
which   like   a   giant    mountain    seems   to  grow 
greater,    in   population    as    we   recede  from  it. 
Of  spotless  life  with  a  heart  burning  with  zeal 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  for  the  propagation  of 
the  Gospel,  he  was  precisely    the  sort  of  man 
to  evangelize  a  nation  and  to  obtain  a  school 
of   apostles    to    follow    in    his  footsteps.      And 
what    a    joy    should    it    not  be  to  us  to  think 
that    we    are    still    permitted  to  carry  on  to  a 
certain    extent    the    work   of   Columba    in  the 
very    spot    sanctified    by     his     presence     and 
hallowed    by    his    prayers    thirteen    centuries 
ago.     What  a  joy  to  think  that  on  the  site  of 
his     Duv-Regles     stands     his    dear  old    Long 
Tower    Church    where    the    selfsame    sacrifice 
of  the  Mass  is  offered  up  now    as    he    offered 
it    up    then ;    where    the    same    homage    and 
adoration  are  given  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
as  he  gave  it  of  old  ;  where  faithful  worshippers 
love  like  him  to  dwell    continually  with  their 
God  in  the  Tabernacle,  which  loving  practice 
won  for  him  this  sweet  name  of    Columbkille 
or  Dove  of  the  Church  :  and  to  think,  moreover, 
that    in    this    very    spot   where  stand  now  the 
Christian    Brothers'  Schools    and  this  College 
of   ours,  the    monks  of  Columba  erst    studied 
the    Sacred    Scriptures,  and  transcribed  those 
manuscripts,  which  for  ages  were  the  admiration 
of  the  world.     Truly  may  we  exclaim,   '  Digitus 
Dei    est    hie'  ('the    finger  of   God    is  in    it,') 
for    a    hundred    years   ago,    who    would    have 


dared  to  prophesy  that  things  would  be  so. 
A  hundred  years  ago  when  our  fathers  still 
worshipped  in  the  lonely  glen,  under  the 
spreading  hawthorn  or  on  the  summit  of 
Grianan  amidst  the  ruins  of  its  ancient  palace  ; 
when  they  sought  learning  by  stealth  from  the 
hedge  schoolmaster,  and  were  obliged  to  go 
abroad  if  they  wanted  higher  education  ;  who  I 
say  would  then  have  dared  to  prophesy  that  on 
to-day  Catholic  seats  of  learning  would  again 
occupy  the  place  of  Columba's  Monastic  Schools 
and  that  the  sanctuary  lamp  would  burn  brightly 
as  of  yore  in  the  very  spot  where  1300  years 
ago,  it  burned  in  the  Dubh- Regies  of  Columba  ? 
It  is  a  change  for  which  we  may  well  thank 
God,  who  in  His  own  good  time  can  still  the 
tempest  of  persecution  and  bring  tranquillity 
and  security  to  the  storm-tossed  barque  of  Mis 
Church. 

His  Lordship  then  referred  to  the 
college  studies,  etc.,  in  a  passage  which 
we  cannot  forbear  quoting  :  — 

To  young  '  boys,  he  said,  study  seems  and 
really  is  a  heavy,  yoke  and  they  cannot  in 
their  school  days  realise  its  advantages,  but 
they  will  afterwards.  They  are  like  tourists 
who  climb  the  mountain  side  in  the  early 
summer  morning,  and  who  can  appreciate  none 
of  the  beauties  that  lie  around  them  owing  to 
the  mists  that  obscured  their  vision.  But  when 
they  have  reached  the  mountain's  crown,  when 
the  sun  has  arisen  in  the  heavens,  and  the 
mists  have  rolled  away,  their  toil  in  the  ascent 
is  forgotten,  and  their  labour  is  rewarded  by 
the  scenes  of  beauty  that  spread  out  before 
them.  There  are  the  winding  valleys,  with 
their  sparkling  streams  and  velvet  meadows, 
there  are  the  groves  with  their  dark  green 
foliage,  the  smiling  orchards,  the  comfortable 
farmsteads,  the  glorious  chains  of  mountains 
stretching  away  to  the  horizon  ;  in  a  word,  be 
fore  them  lies  the  magnificent  panorama  of  the 
summer  landscape  bathed  in  light,  and  resting 
in  the  calm  of  God's  benediction.  So  when  our 
young  boys  shall  have  climbed  the  rugged  paths 
of  study  and  shall  have  attained  to  the  end  of 
their  course,  when  the  mists  of  ignorance  shall 
have  rolled  away  and  the  sun  of  knosvledge 
shall  have  risen  upon  them,  then  shall  they  con 
template  with  complacency  the  scenes  through 
which  they  have  passed,  whose  beauties  at  the 
time  they  could  neither  see  nor  appreciate. 
Derry  Journal,  June,  1897. 


142 


NAZARETH    HOUSE,    DERRY. 


OPPOSITE  the  college  stands 
Nazareth    House,    a    home 
for  aged  destitute  poor  and 
orphan  children.     Amongst 
the    many    blessings    which 
Dr.    O'Doherty's    episcopate    has    given 
Derry,    the    greatest    is    unquestionably 
Nazareth    House.     The    "grey    eye"    of 
Columba,  as  he  looks  down  on  his  be 
loved    Derry,    must    surely    dwell    with 


2nd,  1892,  the  second  anniversary  of  his 
lordship's  consecration.  A  large  balance 
of  Madame  Waters'  bequest  yet  re 
mained.  Money  flowed  in,  and  the  Sis 
ters  were  soon  able  to  enlarge  the  Home 
to  its  present  enormous,  but  still  inade 
quate  dimensions.  They  have  now  within 
their  shelter  some  200  children  and 
nearly  100  old  people.  Daily  the  Sisters 
make  their  quest  through  some  part  of 


NAZARETH    HOUSE,    DERRY 


special  fondness  on  this  spot  within  the 
precincts  of  what  was  once  his  monastic 
enclosure,  where  heroic  charity  and  every 
variety  of  human  suffering  are  so 
strangely,  yet  so  harmoniously  blended. 

The  late  Madame  Waters  left  a  sum  of 
^7,000  to  found  a  Home  for  aged  people 
etc.  With  that  money  the  Bishop  pur 
chased  Sunnyside,  the  residence  of  trie 
late  Patrick  Bradley.  He  then  invited 
the  Poor  Sisters  of  Nazareth  to  come 
from  Hammersmith.  They  did  so,  and 
were,  happily  for  the  poor  of  Derry,  in 
stalled  in  their  new  premises  on  March 


the  city,  and  annually  they  go  round  the 
diocese.  Everywhere  the  kind  and  chari 
table — and,  thank  God,  they  are  the  vast 
majority  of  our  people — receive  them 
most  generously.  Nor  is  it  merely  in  the 
diocese  of  Derry,  or  by  Catholics  only, 
that  the  good  Sisters  are  welcomed ;  for 
they  count  many  who  are  not  Catholics 
among  their  sincerest  friends;  the  Most 
Rev.  Dr.  O'Donnell,  and  his  priests,  with 
that  warmth  which  has  always  distin 
guished  the  men  of  Columba' s  native 
county  are  invariably  most  kind,  liberal, 
and  courteous. 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


Entering  the  Home  one  immediately 
feels  at  home,  so  cheery  and  hearty  is  the 
welcome  given  to  every  visitor,  and  such 
an  air  of  peace  and  charity  reigns  all 
around  the  place.  Through  the  various 
sitting-rooms  and  dormitories,  and  even 
out  on  the  flat  and  palisaded  roof, 
whence  a  charming  and  extensive  view  of 


It  may  be  useful  to  remind  persons  about 
to  make  their  wills  in  favour  of  Nazareth 
House  that  the  bequest  should  be  "  to 
the  Sister  Superior  for  the  time  being  of 
the  Nazareth  House,  Derry,  for  the  bene 
fit  of  the  poor  in  said  institution."  .1 
have  spoken  of  "  old  gentlemen,"  for  be 
it  known,  all  in  Nazareth  House,  who  are 


CHRISTMAS    CRIB,    NAZARETH    HOUSE. 


the  river  may  be  obtained,  one  is  allowed 
to  go.  Everywhere,  from  the  babies' 
room  to  the  old  men's  infirmary,  there  is 
the  same  evidence  of  comfort  and  hap 
piness  abounding.  One  thing  only  is 
wanting,  space  and  money,  to  extend  the 
"  old  gentlemen's"  wing,  and  both,  it  is 
to  be  hoped,  will  soon  be  forthcoming. 


not  children  or  Sisters,  are  called  "  ladies 
and  gentlemen,"  and,  in  the  fullest  sense 
of  the  term,  are  treated  as  such. 

We  have  given  above  a  picture  of 
the  Crib,  which  every  Christmas  draws 
large  crowds  to  the  Home.  It  was  the 
generous  and  personal  work  of  three 
clever  young  Derrymen,  Messrs.  Daniel 


144 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Conroy,  architect ;  Frank  Coghlan,  photo-       carpenter.       Mr.  Edward  M'Court,  Wel- 
grapher ;    and    Harry    M'Court,    master        lington  Street,  has  since  this  photo  was 


CHILDREN'S  REFECTORY,  NAZARETH  HOUSE 


ONE  OF  THE  DORMITORIES,  NAZARETH  HOUSE. 


SAINT  COLUMBA'S  COLLEGE. 

2.  Rev.  Patrick  Dufty,  Professor.  3.   Rev.  John  Boyle,  Professor. 

i.   Very  Rev.  Charles  McHugh,  D.D.,  President. 
4.  Rev.  Bernard  O'Kane,  M.A.,  Professor.  5.  Rev.  Walter  J.  O'Neill,  Dean. 


THE    MUSIC    OF     PRAYER. 

'  Daily,  daily,  sing  to  Mary, 
Sing,  my  soul,  her  praises  due." 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


J45 


SAINT    ANTHONY  S    SHRINE,    NAZARETH    HOUSE. 

taken,  generously  presented  the  Crib  with 
the  traditional  animals,  most  artistically 
stuffed  by  himself.  The  statuary  was  a 
gift  from  the  Promoters  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  Sodality,  Long  Tower,  who  also 
provided  this  pretty  little  shrine  of  Saint 
Antony,  to  whose  post  office  they  would 
invite  all,  who  have  aught  to  give  in 
honour  of  that  Saint,  to  send  their  penny 
stamps  or  shilling  orders. 


As  we  pass  along  the  corridor,  the 
statue  of  Saint  Martin,  with  the  inevi 
table,  but  most  necessary,  alms-box,  at 
tracts  one's  attention.  He  was  the  patron 
Saint  of  Columba.  To  him  great  devo 
tion  formerly  existed  in  Derry.  The 
statue  recalls  to  us  that  historic  fact,  and 
the  penny  slot  at  the  base  reminds  us 
how  to  revive  it. 

At  first  sight  these  hints  may  seem  out 
of  place,  but  not  when  we  reflect  that  the 
words  "  charity  and  Columba"  must  ever 
be  regarded  as  synonymous  in  Derry,  be 
cause  of  the  story  that  Our  Lord  appeared 
to  Columba  in  the  Long  Tower  grounds, 
and  bade  him  not  stint  his  alms  as  long 
as  his  HeavenV  Father  provided  the 
wherewithal. 


THE  HOLY  FAMILY  OF  NAZARETH. 


[     146     ] 


THIRTEENTH    CENTENARY   OF   SAINT   COLUMBA, 

JUNE  QTH,   1897. 


IT  was  resolved,   on  the  part  of  the 
Sacred      Heart      Sodality,      Long 
Tower,  that,  inasmuch  as  the  site 
occupied  by  their  church,  was  the 
spot   dearest   of  all  places  in   the 
world     to     Columba,     they     should     do 
their    best    to    celebrate    his    centenary 
worthily.     A  novena  was,  therefore,  com- 


MR.    WILLIAM    RODDY, 
Editor  of  Dei  ry  Journal. 


menced  on  May  3ist.  All  were  urged  to 
get  invested  with  the  Blue  Scapular  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  and  to  wear 
the  Miraculous  Medal.  Vast  crowds  at 
tended  for  the  opening  Benediction,  and 
during  the  nine  days  that  followed  the 
church  never  emptied  of  people  making 
the  Way  of  the  Cross,  or  visiting  the 
Blessed  Sacrament. 

On  Sunday,  the  6th  June,  a  solemn 
Triduum,  ordered  by  the  most  Rev.  Dr. 
O'Doherty,  began  in  the  city  churches, 
and  at  the  Waterside,  but  of  this  we  shall 
allow  the  "Journal"  reports  to  speak, 
first,  however,  premising  that  the  Catho 
lics  of  Derry-Columbkille  are  very  deeply 
indebted  to  every  member  of  the  "  Jour 
nal"  staff,  but  particularly  to  the  Editor, 
Mr.  William  Roddy,  and  the  manager, 
Mr.  Manasses  Doherty,  both  of  whom 
took  a  most  practical  interest  in  the  cele 
bration,  and  gave  every  possible  help  at 
all  times.  Mr.  Roddy,  indeed,  has  done 
more  than  any  other  individual  in  Deny 
to  create  a  healthy  Catholic  public 
opinion,  and  has  laboured  most  inces 
santly  to  make  that  opinion  boldly  and 
courteously  assertive  of  Catholic  rights, 
both  locally  and  nationally. 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  SAINT  COLUMBA  IN  DERRY. 


On  Sunday  the  Catholic  Faithful  en 
tered  upon  the  Solemn  Triduum  ap 
pointed  by  his  Lordship  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
O'Doherty,  in  memory  of  Saint  Columba, 
the  thirteenth  hundred  anniversary  of 
whose  death  will  be  on  this  day  (Wed 
nesday).  In  all  the  Catholic  churches  of 
the  city  special  devotions  began  as  early 
as  six  in  the  morning  in  a  series  of 
Masses.  All  day  the  people  continued 


to  visit  the  churches  to  do  homage  to  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  The  Old  Church, 
Long  Tower,  which  stands  on  the  site  of 
the  "  Dubh-Regles/'  of  Colum-Cille,  was 
the  centre  and  chief  place  of  reverential 
resort.  The  High  Altar  was  magnifi 
cently  prepared  for  the  Exposition,  and 
the  Altar  of  Saint  Columba  was  also° 
beautifully  decorated. 

The  services  closed  for  the  day  with 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


the  Benediction,  and  several  thousand 
worshippers  attended.  The  church,  how 
ever,  remained  filled  by  an  unceasing 
stream  of  people  making  the  "  Way  of  the 
Cross,"  etc.,  up  till  its  closing  at  eleven 
o'clock  p.m.  The  Cathedral  and  Water 
side  Church  were  also  thronged.  The 
religious  fervour  is  surpassingly  edifying. 
There  is,  too,  a  secular  display  of  an  his 
toric  character.  In  a  street  known  as 
Saint  Columb's  Wells  a  vast  concourse 
of  the  Catholic  people  is  assembled. 
Here  is  the  famous  Saint  Columba's 
stone,  and  along  here  the  wells  respec 
tively  known  as  Tober-Adamnan,  Tober 
Columkille,  Tober  Martin  were.  One 
only  (Saint  Columba's)  is  accessible. 
This  has  been  closed  in  for  a  generation 
by  the  municipal  authority  on  sanitary 
grounds  and  for  convenience  of  traffic. 
On  Monday  it  was  opened,  and,  having 
been  cleared  of  mud,  at  once  gave  out 
its  spring  in  a  full  bright  flow.  The 
scene  at  the  well  is  most  remarkable. 
Crowds  upon  crowds  are  crushing  in  to 
get  to  the  water,  which  is  being  taken 
away  in  bottles  to  be  preserved.  The 
street  for  several  hundred  yards  is  filled 
with  a  dense  body  of  people,  and  as  these 
move  away  others  take  their  places.  The 
Rosary  is  recited  as  the  night  closes  in 
on  the  spot  held  sacred  by  the  people. 
These  manifestations  are  entirely  spon 
taneous  in  the  people  themselves,  and 
form  no  part  of  the  religious  ceremonies 
and  services  arranged  for  the  churches 
The  scene  all  over  is  singularly  impres 
sive,  and  is  such  as  in  the  memory  of 
man  has  not  been  witnessed  in  Deny, 
now  in  this  once  more,Derry-Columbkille. 
The  extraordinary  religious  feeling 
which  has  been  witnessed  in  the  city  dur 
ing  the  last  few  days  in  connection  with 
the  Thirteenth  Centenary  of  Saint  Col- 
umba  was,  if  such  were  possible,  even 
more  marked  yesterday  than  before.  In 
the  vicinity  of  the  WTells  the  scene  during 
the  evening  was  of  a  very  impressive 
character.  The  Well,  which  as  before 


mentioned,  had  been  re-opened,  after  hav 
ing  been  closed  for  a  long  period,  was 
visited  by  large  numbers  of  the  Catholic 
citizens,  and,  as  the  evening  wore  on,  the 
thoroughfares  in  the  neighbourhood  be 
came  completely  blocked,  so  eager  were 
the  people  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  spot  so  hal 
lowed  by  the  memory  of  Columba. 
Around  the  well  itself  a  paling  of  wood 
has  been  erected,  and  a  man — the  quay 
porters  resident  in  the  Wells  had  con 
stituted  themselves  its  guardians — was 
constantly  occupied  passing  out  the  water 
to  the  expectant  people  waiting  around. 
It  was  carried  to  the  different  parts  of  the 
city  and  Waterside,  and  so  much  was  the 
demand  that  many  were  disappointed. 
Over  Saint  Columba's  stone  has  been 
placed  a  large  canopy,  richly  furnished, 
with  evergreens  and  fairy  lamps,  relieved 
here  and  there  by  little  crosses,  which 
give  much  effect.  The  top  apex  is  sur 
mounted  by  a  larger  cross,  around  which 
circle  a  number  of  lamps.  The  whole 
work  has  been  finely  executed.  When 
the  little  lamps  cast  a  subdued  glow 
around  the  pretty  structure  at  the  hour  of 
midnight  it  seemed  indeed  a  votive  altar 
to  Catholicity  and  Saint  Columba  in  the 
public  streets  of  Derry.  Even  at  that 
late  hour  a  number  of  persons  had 
gathered  at  the  stone,  and  reverently 
saluted  it  as  the  last  vibrations  of  the 
Guildhall  clock  ushered  in  the  thirteenth 
hundred  year  of  the  death  of  the  great 
Saint  Columba.  Near  the  Long  Tower 
Church  a  number  of  letters  are  burning 
with  gas-jets,  which  read — "  Blessed  Col 
umba,  pray  for  us."  Approaching  the 
midnight  hour  the  chant  of  the  rosary  in 
the  old  Gaelic  tongue  arose  on  the  air, 
and  around  knelt  hundreds  of  the  devout 
people,  who,  with  bowed  heads,  told  their 
beads  where  Columba  himself  had  been 
wont  to  pray.  As  is  to  be  expected,  the 
central  religious  exercises  are  to  be  wit 
nessed  at  the  Long  Tower,  and  the  scene 
there  was  beyond  description.  Room 
could  hardlv  be  found  in  the  church  for 


THE     MADONNA     OF     ALBA. 

For  more  than  two  hundred  years  the  property  of  the  Dukes  of  Alba.     It  is  now  in  the  gallery  of  the  "  Ermitage 

St.  Petersburg.     It  is  universally  a  u  mired  and  praised  by  art  critics. 

Mother  of  our  Redeemer,  pray  for  us. 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


149 


all  who  sought  admittance.  The  church 
was  crowded,  and  although  additional 
confessors  were  present,  yet  it  was  found 
almost  impossible  to  minister  to  all  the 
people. 

The  "  Stations  of  the  Cross"  were  also 
made  by  very  great  numbers.     The  altars 
of    Saint    Columba    looked    particularly 
striking  in  the  subdued  glow  of  the  soft 
red  lights  which  burned  around  it.  Care 
ful  hands  have  attended  to  the  altar  de 
corations,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
flowers  are  arranged  gives  a  most  effec 
tive  appearance.     The  high  altar  and  the 
altar  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  also  display 
the  great  taste  bestowed  upon  them,  and 
add  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  spectacle. 
At  Saint  Eugene's  Cathedral  the  effect 
presented  was  of  a  most  brilliant  char 
acter.     The  altars  have  been  decorated 
with  flowers  in  lavish  profusion,  and  the 
candles  and  gaslights  burning  all  around 
added  much  to  the  impression  felt  on  en 
tering   the    church.       As    in    the    Long 
Tower,  the  numbers  approaching  confes 
sion  were  so  immense  that  approach  to 
the   boxes   was   attainable   only    by    the 
most  patient  waiting. 

In  Saint  Columba's  Church,  Water 
side,  the  scene  again  was  most  impres 
sive.  The  altar  of  Saint  Columba,  in 
particular,  was  very  noticeable  for  its 
colouring.  In  the  centre  stands  a  fine  oil 
painting  of  the  Saint,  while  around  the 
sides  there  are  rows  of  lighted  candles, 
and  flowers  assorted  with  a  delicate  taste 
lend  a  charm  to  the  general  effect.  The 
High  Altar  is  the  more  imposing.  Willing 
hands  were  engaged  in  completing  the 
decorations,  and  when  the  myriad  candles 
are  lighted  at  the  Masses  this  morning 
with  large  and  devout  congregations  the 
scene  must  surely  be  impressive  in  the 
extreme.  Last  evening  this  church  was 


also  very  largely  attended  by  penitents, 
all  the  priests  being  kept  busy  until  the 

midnight  hour 

To-day  (Wednesday)  one  of  the  most 
notable  religious  displays  that  have  ever 
occurred  in  the  memory  of  the  city  will 
take  place.  From  five  o'clock  this  morn 
ing,  at  each  successive  hour  up  to  nine, 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  will  be 
offered  up  at  the  Long  Tower  and  Saint 
Eugene's  Cathedral,  while  at  Saint  Col 
umba's,  Waterside,  the  hours  are  half- 
past  six  and  eight  o'clock.  The  scene 
at  the  Long  Tower  promises  to  eclipse 
anything  ever  witnessed  even  on  that 
sacred  spot.  It  was  here,  as  our  readers 
are  aware,  stood  Columba's  oak  grove ;  it 
was  here  he  knelt  and  prayed  so  often ; 
it  was  here  his  monastery  stood  ;  and  now 
after  1,300  years  his  memory  and  his 
name  live  and  are  honoured  in  the  old 
spot  he  loved  so  well,  and  so  much  re 
gretted  to  leave  when  missionary  duties 
called  him  to  another  land,  among  a 
strange  people.  Derry  on  this  occasion 
will  show  itself  well  worthy  of  its  glorious, 
traditions. 

At  the  hour  of  midnight,  whilst  yet  the 
priests  were  occupied  in  their  solemn 
duties  with  penitents,  earnest  artisan  and 
loving  hands  were  silently  engaged  in  the 
decoration  of  the  interior  of  the  churches 
and  the  altars ;  and,  after  the  clocks  in 
the  city  towers  had  tolled  the  morning  of 
the  anniversary,  the  priests  were  each 
presented  with  a  richly  foliated  branch  of 
oak — (by  the  members  of  the  "  Journal'' 
staff,  who,  most  faithful  to  the  memory  of 
the  Saint,  though  it  was  publication 
night,  paid  a  hasty  visit  to  the  church  at 
the  hour  which  ushered  in  the  fete  day. 
— W.  D.) — taken  from  a  tree  in  the  spot 
where  once  was  one  of  the  groves  cele 
brated  in  the  story  of  Columbkille. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Composed  by  E.CONAGHAN,  Organist,  Long  Tower  Church,  Derry. 

FORTHE  ST.  COLUMBA  CENTENARY,  9th  JUNE, 1897. 


Hark  Ian-     -  -  gel  -  -  -  ic  songs  re  -  -  sound  ing,  thro' the    happy  courts    of 


Heaven,  for  the       tri-umph  of    Col  -  -  -uiii-ba ,  end  less  praise  to  God    is 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


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town,      "While  thy  children  sing  thy 


v>  Trom  thy  home  in  Heaven  look 


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Chorus 


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down. 


--iim-lja,  St.  Cul---inn-"ba,  Holy    pa-tiim  of  our 


town,  MMychM-rai  smy  thy  prais-^.PromthyhoTnemHKivmloolt    down 


Hark  !  angelic  songs  resounding  thro'  the  happy  St.  Columba  !  St.  Columba  !  holy  patron  of  our 

courts  of  Heaven,    zpvv  town, 

For  the  triumph  of  Columba  endless'praise  to  While  thy  children  sing  thy  praises  fiom   thy 
God  is  given.  throne  in  Heaven  look  down. 


'52 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Chorus  — 

St.  Columba!  St.  Columba!  holy  patron 

of  our  town, 
While  thy  children  sing  thy  praises  from 

thy  throne  in  Heaven  look  down 

See  Columba,  silent,  kneeling,  rapt  in  loving 
ecstasy 

At  the  altar  where  his  Jesus  hides  in  love  His 
majesty. 

St.  Columba,  dearest  father,  would  our  hearts 
were  like  to  thine. 

Make  us  share  thy  deep  devotion  to  this  Sacra 
ment  Divine. 

Chorus. 

When  Columba  speaks  of  Jesus,  when  his  lips 

pronounce  His  name, 
Every  word  with  love  is  burning,  and  his  hearers 

catch  the  flame. 
St.  Columba !   holy    father,   hear    our    praises, 

grant  our  prayer, 
Make  ns  love  our  Jesus  better,  and  in  Heaven 

His  glory  share. 

Chorus, 


Great  Columba,  wondrous  preacher,  light  re 
splendent  of  the  world, 

Holy  Church's  mighty  champion,  who  truth  s 
.sacred  flag  unfurled. 

Sweet  Columba  now  thou  reignest  crowned 
eternally  above, 

Help  thy  children  here  in  Derry,  thou  the  Holy 
Church's  Dove. 

Chorus. 


From  the  "Derry  Journal,''  June  nth, 
"1897. 

(By  Mr.  Patrick  Brennan,  Reporter.) 
THE  thirteenth  centenary  of  Berry's 
patron  saint  has  come  and  gone,  and  the 
important  event  has  been  celebrated  in 
a  manner  and  in  a  spirit  worthy  of  the 
city  of  Saint  Columbkille. 

Although  it  was  not  a  church  holiday, 
not  a  Catholic  man,  woman,  or  child  in 
Derry  failed  to  go  to  Mass,  or  to  pay  a 
visit  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  which  was 
exposed  for  adoration  in  all  our  churches. 
Five  thousand  persons  received  the  Holy 
Communion  in  the  Long  Tower,  twelve 
hundred  at  the  Cathedral,  and  a  like 
number  at  the  Waterside.  Masses  were 
celebrated  hourly  from  five  o'clock  till 
nine.  During  the  adoration  services  in 
the  Long  Tower  Church  on  Wednesday 
the  usual  choir  was  materially  supple 


mented  with  full  orchestral  accompani 
ment.  The  pupils  of  Miss  M'Closkey's 
school  furnished  the  children's  choir,  and 
sang  the  beautiful  Centenary  Hymn  to 
Saint  Columba,  composed  and  arranged 
by  the  efficient  organist,  Mr.  Edward 
Conaghan.  Where,  amid  an  equal  popu 
lation,  except  in  the  city  of  Columbkille, 
could  such  a  spectacle  of  faith  and  de 
votion  be  witnessed,  and  how  must  it 
have  gladdened  the  hearts  of  our  Bishop 
and  priests  to  contemplate  it  ?  The 
great  Catholic  Emancipator  gave  his  heart 
to  Rome,  but  Saint  Columba  gave  his 
heart  to  Derry,  and  well  has  Derry  re 
garded  its  trust.  Would  the  reader  could 
have  visted  the  Catholic  churches  of 
Derry  on  Wednesday  last,  and  seen  the 
Sacred  Host  exposed  on  the  altars  amid 
a  wealth  of  splendour,  beauty,  and  mag 
nificence  that  imagination  can  faintly  pic 
ture,  and  feeling  alone  can  understand ! 
The  altar  at  the  Old  Long  Tower  was 
like  "a  gem  from  the  fretwork  of  heaven," 
at  Saint  Eugene's  there  was  a  glow  of 
luxuriant  grandeur  in  the  stillness  of 
solemnity,  and  for  a  moment  straying 
from  the  crowd  into  Saint  Columba's, 
Waterside,  there  was  an  atmosphere  of 
fragrance,  quietness,  and  flowers ;  and  in 
all  the  churches,  with  heads  low  bent, 
unnumbered  worshippers  melted  out  the 
essence  of  their  hearts  in  prayer  and 
adoration.  That  was  Catholicity's  re 
verence  to  Saint  Columba  in  his  City  of 
Derry.  Philosophy,  it  is  said,  can  clip  an 
angel's  wings,  but  this  was  not  philo 
sophy — it  was  simple  faith.  This,  too, 
was  the  spirit  which  prompted  the  spon 
taneous  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the 
saint  by  the  people  of  the  locality  so 
closely  identified  with  his  life,  and  which 
still  bears  his  name,  Saint  Columba's 
Wells,  and  the  streets  adjoining  the  Long 
Tower  Church.  This,  too,  was  the  spirit 
which  animated  the  thousands  who  knelt 
down  in  the  public  street  of  Derry  and 
recited  the  rosary  around  the  Well  of 
Saint  Columba,  and  this  also  was  the  im- 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


pulse  which  stimulated  the  good  men 
who  kept  vigil  by  the  miniature  church 
over  Saint  Columba's  Stone,  and  kept  the 
lights  aglow  throughout  the  livelong 
night.  Within  the  last  few  days  there 
have  been  many  evidences  of  the  vitality 
of  Catholicity  and  unaffected  piety  in 
Deny,  and  in  the  religious  services  which 
were  attended  so  numerously  and  partici 
pated  in  so  fervently  there  was  an  admir 
able  exposition  of  practical  faith. 


church,  and  thence  to  Saint  Eugene's 
Cathedral ;  the  children  of  the  Waterside 
School  also  paid  a  visit  of  adoration  to 
Saint  Columba's  Church.  The  piety  of 
adults  has  ever  the  tinge  of  solemnity, 
but  that  of  children  gives  us  a  glimpse  of 
Paradise,  for  heaven  smiles  upon  us  in 
our  infancy.  It  was  inexpressibly  touch 
ing  to  hear  the  little  ones  join  in  united 
prayer  before  the  gleaming  altars  or  raise 
their  voices  in  a  garland  of  sweet  song. 


.     • 


LONG    TOWER    CHURCH,    JUNE    <JTH,     1897. 


But  the  effective  elements  of  innocent 
beauty  were  not  wanting,  for  on  Wednes 
day,  to  swell  the  crowds  which  inces 
santly  thronged  our  churches,  there  were 
upwards  of  2,500  children  from  the 
Catholic  schools  of  the  city,  who  walked 
in  procession  from  their  respective 
schools  to  the  Long  Tower,  the  centenary 


Then  again,  in  silent  meditation,  when 
age  and  infancy  bent  before  the  Throne, 
the  very  footsteps  whispered,  and  the 
massive  church  was  silent  "  as  a  conse 
crated  urn."  It  was,  indeed,  a  sight  that 
far  outstripped  magnificence,  and  was 
truly  fitting  for  Daire-Columbkille  on 
Saint  Columba's  Dav. 


[     154     ] 


DECORATIONS  IN  THE  CHURCHES. 


AS  befitting  the  site  of  the  famed 
Dubh-Regles  in  Daire  Calgach 
the  Old  Long  Tower  Church 
was  decorated  with  the  most 
imposing  grandeur.     As   the 
church   is   cruciform   in   shape,   the  ele 
vated    altar,    with    its    noble    Corinthian 
columns  and  capitals,  lends  itself  to  due 
decoration   with   unequalled   effect,    and 
there  is  such  an  indescribable  devotional 
influence  around  it  as  unconsciously  gives 
it   pre-eminence.     The   high   altar,    side 
altars,  and  spacious  sanctuary  were  one 
huge  bouquet   of  radiance,  colour,   and 
fragrance.      Nearly     a     hundred     lights 
gleamed  around  the  Sacred  Host,  and  the 
splendid  candelabra  were  united   rather 
than  divided,  by  vases  of  choicest  flowers, 
tastefully    and    fittingly    chosen    in    the 
Sacramental  colours,  red  and  white.  On 
the    platform,    and    in    depending    lines 
from  the  tabernacle,  were  rows  of  candles, 
with  pedestal  pots  of  greenhouse  plants, 
ferns,  and  lilies,  and  around  the  steps  to 
the  altar  rails  magnificent  bouquets  alter 
nated  with   brilliant   lights.     Above   the 
statue  of  Saint  Columba  was  aptly  hung 
a  silken  bannerette,  with  the  tabernacle 
embroidered  thereon.     But  the  didactic 
and    the    cardinal    feature    of  the   deco 
rations    at    the    Long    Tower    were    the 
almost    innumerable    little    sacramental 
lamps.     Saint  Columba  was  the  Dove  of 
the  Church,  the  soldier  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  and  the  predominant  element 
in  the  illumination  by  the  little  red  glow 
especially  appealed  to   Catholic  sympa 
thies,  and  must  surely  have  been  in  con 
sonance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Saint.     Not 
a  single  candle  illumined  his  altar — all 
red  lamps.     When  darkness  fell,  and  no 
gas  light  shone  in  the  church,  then  was 
the  full   blaze   of   glory  seen   from   the 
altar.     It    is    impossible    to    apply    the 
canons   of   decorative   art    to  the   Long 
Tower  Church  so  peculiarly  does  it  ap 


peal  to  the  love  and  reverence  of  the 
people  of  Derry.  Very  many  non- 
Ca.tholics  visited  the  church  on  Wednes 
day  night,  and  expressed  much  edification 
by  what  they  saw. 

Saint  Eugene's  Cathedral  is  a  massive, 
grand,  and  solemn  pile,  and  must  ever 
convey  the  impression  of  majesty  and 
awe.  The  high  altar  beneath  the  great 
window  is  a  model  of  beautiful  architec 
ture,  which  the  expansive  sanctuary  does 
not  permit  the  visitor  to  admire  in  its 
choice  detail,  but  for  the  purposes  of  de 
coration  and  illumination  it  offers  ad 
vantages  which  have  been  applied  with 
the  greatest  possible  good  taste.  By 
happy  ingenuity  all  the  ornamental  pro 
jections  on  the  recesses  and  canopy  of 
the  high  altar  have  been  fitted  with  gas 
jets  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  by  day 
quite  unnoticeable,  but  when  lighted 
either  by  day  or  night  bring  out  the 
altar  in  magnificent  relief.  When,  to 
this,  on  Wednesday,  was  added  all  that 
pious  generosity,  and  good  taste  could 
assemble,  the  effect  may  be  imagined. 
Nearly  a  thousand  lights  illumined  the 
chancel,  and  at  night  it  was  resplendent 
with  quivering  radiance.  From  the 
altar  platform  to  the  sanctuary  tiling, 
rows  of  massive  brass  candlesticks  alter 
nated  with  pedestal  pot  ferns  and  hot 
house  plants,  immense  vases,  gorgeous 
flowers,  and  fairy  lamps  twinkling  hither 
and  thither,  presented  all  that  man  ex 
ternally  could  do  to  glorify  his  Creator. 
The  altar  was  decorated  with  supreme 
taste  and  judgment,  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Thomas  M'Conalogue,  and  in  ac 
cord  with  the  magnificent  monument  in 
which  it  is  enshrined. 

Saint  Columba's  Church,  Waterside, 
not  alone  by  denomination,  but  also  by 
close  association  with  the  life  of  Saint 
Columba,  duly  recorded  the  devotion  of 
its  people  to  the  memory  of  its  great 


RAPHAEL.! 


OUR    LADY    OF    THE    GARDEN. 
Mystical  Rose,  pray  for  us. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


patron.  The  spacious  sanctuary,  with 
its  triple  altars,  gave  abundant  evidence  of 
the  veneration  with  which  Saint  Columba 
is  regarded,  and  more  impressive  still 
was  the  tremulous  murmur  that  floated 
intermittently  from  around  the  altar  rails, 
where  the  faithful  people  joined  in  united 
prayer  to  the  Throne  of  Grace.  It  was  a 
palpable  incense  of  adoration,  and  far 
more  striking  than  the  glowing  shrine  at 
which  the  devotions  were  paid.  The 
high  altar  was  extended  by  steps  down 
ward  to  a  level  with  the  platform,  and  on 


this  effective  background  there  blazed  a 
myriad  lights.  The  church  was  redolent 
with  the  perfume  of  the  choicest  flowers, 
and  great  white  lilies  bent  their  heads  in 
reverence  towards  the  Host.  The  en 
semble  of  light,  harmonious  colour,  per 
fume,  and  the  very  sigh  of  silence  that 
swept  upon  the  ear,  lent  a  luxuriance  of 
bliss,  and  the  massive  floral  crosses  that 
surmounted  Saint  Joseph's  altar,  where 
the  picture  of  Saint  Columba  stood,  re 
called  a  sadness  that  was  almost  joy. 
Such  was  the  Waterside  Church. 


THE  CHILDREN'S  PROCESSION. 


THE  procession  of  the  school 
children  of  Derry  can  hardly 
be  so  called.  In  its  con 
ception  it  was  not  designed  to 
be  anything  like  a  generally 
organized  procession  of  all  the  children, 
but  rather  a  special  visit  of  adoration  to 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  at  the  Long 
Tower  Church,  and  from  thence  to  Saint 
Eugene's  Cathedral  by  the  children  of 
each  school  in  its  turn.  By  this  arrange 
ment,  from  about  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning  till  three  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  there  was  a  continuous  guard  of 
honour  of  the  innocence  of  childhood 
before  the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  the  Long 
Tower  Church  and  at  the  Cathedral. 
The  children  from  all  the  schools,  boys' 
and  girls',  were  very  neatly  and  tastefully 
dressed,  and  the  order  and  decorum  ob 
served  by  them  on  the  occasion  were  in 
the  highest  degree  creditable  to  the 
teachers.  Not  a  single  hitch  occurred 
in  the  day's  proceedings.  The  teachers 
brought  their  charges  to  the  school  with 
admirable  punctuality,  and  the  de 
meanour  of  the  children  must  surely  have 
been  very  gratifying  to  their  parents  and 
to  the  public.  It  was  extremely  edifying 


to  see  the  processions  of  the  little  girls 
from  their  various  schools.     They  bore 
bannerettes  with  religious  emblems,  and 
the  tiniest  of  the  processionists  were  none 
the  less  admired.     In  the  same  way  the 
boys  of  the   respective  schools   marched 
two  by  two,  with  bannerettes  at  regular 
distances.       So    pretty    did   the   various 
bands  of  children  look  as  they  proceeded 
to  the  Long  Tower  Church  that  passers-by 
involuntarily    saluted    the    little    proces 
sions.      Saint  Columba  must  surely  have 
been  interceding  for  benign  weather,  for 
although  the  day  was  one  of  the  darkest 
and  most  lowering,  not  a  shower  fell  to 
spoil  the  parade  of  the  children.     The 
day  preceding  was  unusually  wet,  and  the 
streets  were  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of 
mud.     However,   in  anticipation   of  the 
children's  parade  the  City  Surveyor  (Mr. 
W.  J.  Robinson,  C.E.)  very  considerately 
had  the  entire  route  of  the  children's  pro 
cession  cleansed,  on  the  thoughtful  sug 
gestion  of  a  gentleman  belonging  to  the 
Town  Council.     Here,  too,  it  may  not  be 
inappropriate  to  mention  that  the  Town 
Council  lent  their  aid  in  opening  Saint 
Columba's  Well. 

The  schools,    in   their  order   of   visit- 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


'57 


ing  the  Long   Tower   Church,   were :  — 

Saint  Columba's  Girls'  School  (Miss 
Anna  M'Closkey). 

Christian  Brothers'  Schools  (Brother 
Downey). 

Cathedral  Schools  (Sisters  of  Mercy). 

Saint  Eugene's  Boys'  School  (Mr.  John 
M'Namara). 

Saint  Patrick's  Girls'  School  (Sisters  of 
Mercy). 


Saint  Columba's  (Waterside)  Boys'  and 
Girls',  to  Waterside  Church 

The  scene  in  the  Long  Tower  Church 
during  the  devotions  of  the  children  was 
touching  in  the  extreme.  The  children 
walked  in  so  reverently,  and  offered  their 
prayers  so  devoutly  as  to  evidence  the 
most  careful  and  conscientious  training. 
Father  William  Doherty  knelt  in  the  mid 
dle  of  the  church  and  offered  up  the 


SCHOOL    VISITS    TO    CALVARY,    JUNE    QTH,    1898,    CATHEDRAL    (GIRLs)    SCHOOL. 


Saint  Columba's  Boys'  School  (Mr. 
•William  Ferguson  and  Mr.  Michael 
M'Cullagh). 

Saint  Eugene's  Girls'  School  (Miss  C. 
Devine,  Miss  Mary  T.  Richardson,  and 
Miss  Feeney). 

Saint  Columba's  Hall  School  (Mr.  T. 
F.  Mullan). 

Immaculate  School,  Artillery  Street 
(Sisters  of  Mercy). 

Saint  Columba's  College  (Dr.  M'Hugh 
and  Father  W.  O'Neill). 

Nazareth  House  School  (Sisters  of 
Nazareth). 


prayers  ;  many  an  unbidden  tear  came  to 
loving  or  penitent  eyes,  for  the  child's 
prayer  appealed  to  the  adult's  heart. 

Throughout  the  day,  the  evening,  and 
the  night  the  throng  of  people  to  the 
churches  never  ceased.  His  Lordship 
Most  Rev.  Dr.  J.  K.  O'Doherty,  visited 
all  the  churches,  and  passed  through 
Saint  Columba's  Wells,  as  did  also  all  the 
local  and  district  priests. 

At  shortly  before  half-past  ten  o'clock 
— -the  hour  appointed  for  the  closing  of 
the  ceremonies  at  the  Long  Tower — a 
vast  concourse  had  assembled  at  the 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


Wells,  the  whole  roadway  from  the 
Chapel  Gate  (lower)  to  the  junction  of 
the  streets  with  the  Bogside,  being 
densely  thronged,  and  a  passage  only 
being  accomplished  with  difficulty.  Il 
luminations  prevailed  all  along  the  route, 
but  in  centre  of  the  dark  mass  of  people 
the  neat  Gothic  structure  over  Saint  Col- 
umba's  Stone  shone  out  in  well-defined 
lines  of  many-coloured  tiny  lamps.  To 
this  point  at  the  hour  mentioned  Father 
Doherty,  in  soutane  and  biretta,  and  ac 
companied  by  some  friends,  made  his  way. 
Holding  up  his  hand — a  sign  for  silence 
— a  profound  hush  spread  over  the  great 
crowd,  and,  with  one  accord,  all  knelt 
down — a  solemn  and  inspiring  scene. 
Father  Doherty,  after  a  few  words,  in 
which  he  emphasized  the  high  and  true 
purpose  of  the  celebration,  namely,  the 
greater  glory  of  God,  and  honour  to  a 
saint  of  God,  kneeling  down,  asked  the 
people  to  join  him  in  reciting  the  rosary, 
and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  im 
pression  created  by  responses  issuing  fer 
vently  in  the  volume  of  many  thousand 


voices  can  never  leave  the  minds  of  those 
who  were  there.  His  reverence  then  im 
parted  a  blessing  to  the  still  kneeling  as 
semblage,  and  immediately,  at  his  re 
quest,  all  rose  and  reverently  departed  to 
their  homes. 

ST.  COLUMBA'S  DAY. 

The  eyes  of  Faith  behold  once  more 
The  white-winged  spirits  who  of  yore 
Beneath  the  sheltering  oaken  tree 
Kept  Co'.um  Cille  sweet  company. 
And  they  once  more  to  earth  have  come 
From  out  their  far-off  happy  home, 
To  mingle  with  his  sons  to-day, 
To  cheer  them  up  the  narrow  way, 
To  stretch  to  them  a  helping  hand, 
To  carry  to  the  blessed  land 
The  gifts  of  virtue — offerings  sweet— 
To  lay  down  at  the  Master's  feet. 

Let  not  these  messengers  of  light 

Leave  earth  without  a  burden  bright ; 

Not  empty-handed  on  high  send 

The  soul's  angelic  guide  and  friend 

Nay,  send  not  empty  hands  to  Him 

But  fill  each  vessel  to  the  brim. 

Ay,  load  them  with  choice  fruits  and  flowers 

From  faith's  and  from  affection's  bowers  ; 

With  flowers  of  virtue — fruits  of  grace — 

Fill  up  each  shining  golden  vase, 

That  angel  hands  may  bear  away 

Gifts  worthy  on  Columba's  Day. 

A.  J. 


PROCESSION  OF  THE  BLESSED  SACRAMENT  IN  FRANCE. 


L    159   J 


SAINT    COLUMBA'S    STONE. 
REMOVAL   FROM   THE  WELLS   TO   LONG   TOWER. 


AT  midnight  on  Wednesday,  ac 
cording  to  arrangement,  and 
after  the  crowds  of  people  had 
cleared  away  from  the 
thoroughfares,  a  number  of 
earnest,  skilled  workmen,  in  the  presence 
of  Father  William  Doherty,  began  opera 
tions  for  removing  Saint  Columba's 
Stone  from  the  Wells.  This  stone — a 
large  boulder  jutting  up  out  of  the  road 
way — had  long  been  to  some  extent  a 
danger  to  traffic,  and  its  removal  will  be 
regarded,  in  this  respect,  as  a  conveni 
ence.  The  Corporation  had,  in  past 
times,  the  removal  under  consideration, 
but  the  popular  reverence  being  so  great, 
it  was  decided  not  to  enforce  the  desired 
change  against  the  people's  feelings.  The 
work  now  required  every  care,  and,  as  the 
stone  was  deeply  bedded,  considerable 
labour  as  well.  The  men  worked  silently, 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  clink  of 
pickaxes  no  sound  was  heard.  In  a  com 
paratively  short  time  the  boulder  was 
freed  from  the  ground  and  placed  on  a 
large  hand-barrow.  A  number  of  willing, 
strong  young  men  volunteered  their  ser 
vices,  and  immediately  proceeded  to  bear 
the  Stone,  which  is  of  very  considerable 
weight,  to  the  Long  Tower  Church 
grounds.  This  was  accomplished  after 
much  exertion,  especially  at  the  long 
flight  of  steps,  and  as  this  strange  pro 
cession  entered  the  Chapel  Yard,  Father 
Doherty  preceded  it,  reciting  the  rosary, 
a  number  of  people  in  the  grounds  and 
those  accompanying  the  procession  of 
workmen  responding.  In  this  way  the 
vestry  was  reached,  and  the  stone  placed 
within  it  on  the  floor,  to  remain  there 
pending  arrangements  for  the  erection  of 
a  Calvary  outside  the  church,  and  of 
which  it  is  to  form  a  part  at  the  base. 
Father  Doherty  then  asked  those  assem 
bled  to  come  into  the  church,  and  at 


about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  having 
again  joined  in  prayer,  the  rev.  gentle 
man,  standing  at  the  altar  rails,  spoke  as 
follows  :  — "  The  proceedings  of  the  past 
week  have  been  a  splendid  act  of  faith  on 
the  part  of  Derry,  and  to-night's  work  is 
a  most  fitting  '  Amen'  to  our  Novena. 
You  have  brought  Columba's  Stone  to 
the  place  where  he  most  loved  to  be  him 
self,  and  where  it  is  proper  everything  be 


REV.    WILLIAM    DOHERTY,    C.C.,    LONG    TOWER. 


longing  to  him  should  be  laid — that  is, 
within  the  shadow  of  the  tabernacle. 
There  have  been  '  Holy  Stones'  in  the 
world  ever  since  the  day  that  the  finger 
of  God  traced  the  commandments  on  the 
'  Two  Stones'  of  Sinai,  and  commanded 
them  to  be  preserved  in  the  '  Ark  of  the 
Covenant'  in  the  Holy  of  Holies.  The 
stone  on  which  Jacob's  head  rested  ai 
Bethel  when  he  had  his  glorious  dream  ol 
the  angels  ascending  to  and  descending 
from  the  heavens,  was  likewise  held  in 
fondest  veneration  by  the  people  of  Israel 


i6o 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


for  many  a  century.     So,  too,  has  "Saint 
Columba's  Stone"  been  sanctified  by  the 
touch  of  a  Saint  greater  than  Jacob,  and 
who   had   more   frequent  visions   of  the 
angels.     Saint   Adamnan,    or,    as    he   is 
sometimes  called,  Saint  Eunan,  tells  us  in 
his  life  of  our  Saint  that  he  always  used 
a  pillow  of  stone,  which  also  served  him 
as  a  seat.     It  was  on  it,  he  adds,  Col- 
umba  seated  himself  on  the  eve  of  his 
death,  when  giving  his  last  instructions 
to  the  monks,  and  in  Eunan's  time  was 
still  to  be  seen  at  the  head  of  the  Saint's 
grave,  where  it  served  as  a  monument.  It 
is  now  in  a  case  in  the  eastern  end  of  the 
ruined  nave  of  lona.     It  is  worthy  of  the 
notice    and    respect    of    every    Christian 
tourist  who  believes,   with  the  '  Acts  of 
the    Apostles,'    that    inanimate    objects, 
such  as  handkerchiefs,  are  sanctified  by 
contact  with  the  persons  of  saints.     But 
not  less  deserving  of  honour  is  this  verit 
able  relic  of  Derry  Columbkille,  which 
has   survived   the   destructive  malice   of 
men  and  the  obliterations  of  time.     All 
honour  to  the  good  people  of  the  Wells 
who  have  preserved  it  so  long  intact,  even 
in  such  a  critical  position.     It  would  not, 
however,  I  fear,  be  always  allowed  to  re 
main  undisturbed,  and  so  it  is  wiser,  and 
more  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Saint  to  carry  it  here,  where  it  is  safe 
from  all  possible  vandalism,  and  likely  to 
prove  more  commemorative  of  its  illus 
trious    owner.     Once    hallowed    by    his 
hand,  it  carries  that  grace  to  the  end  of 
time.     It  seems  in  ages,  very  much  later 
than  Columba's,  to  have  been  fashioned 
into  and  used  as  a  holy  water  font,  and, 
like  many  another  old  stone,  once  blessed 
by  a  saint,  was  supposed,  and  with  good 
reason,  to  have  shared  its  blessing  with 
the  water  that  lodged  in  its  basins.       I 
have  no  doubt  myself,  though  I  cannot 
produce  any  other  evidence  that  that  of 
tradition,  that  on  it  Columba  once  knelt 
in  prayer.       If  that  be  so,   we  are   to 
night  restoring  it  to  its  proper  place.     In 
a  short  time  we  hope  to  have  a  fitting 
shrine  prepared  for  it.       Columba  was 


fond  of  crosses.       We  shall,   therefore, 
have  as  fine  a  Calvary  as  we  can   get 
erected  from  the  most  suitable  and  lasting 
material,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  crucifix, 
resting  on  an  inscribed  granite  or  lime 
stone   table,   we   shall   place  the   stone, 
where  all,   in  touching  it,   may   honour 
Columba   and   reverence   the    Crucified. 
For  the  souls  in  Purgatory,  whom  Col 
umba  loves,  we  have  made  the  Stations  of 
the  Cross  pretty  often  during  the  past 
nine  days.     This  stone,  by  the  foot  of  a 
Calvary  group,  will  remind  us  to  do  it 
oftener    still.        There   are   many    '  Saint 
Columba's  stones.'     All  are  more  or  less 
venerated,  but  there  is  one  more  impor 
tant  than  the  rest.     It  is  not  called  Saint 
Columba's,    but   scholars  say   it   is   his, 
being  the  one  on  which  he  throned  Aidan 
in  the  Church  of  lona,  when  he  anointed 
him  King  of  Caledonia  with  God's  holy 
chrism.     That  was  the  first  time  a  King 
had  been  anointed  with  the  sacred  unction 
in  Western  Europe.     The  stone  was  con 
sequently  held  in  great  veneration,  and 
removed  to  Scone,  and  thence  to  West 
minster,  where  it  is  now  firmly  wedged 
into    the    wooden    frame-work    of    the 
Queen's  Coronation  chair.  We  have  then 
precedents,  both  Scriptural  and  secular, 
for  reverencing,  as  we  purpose  to  rever 
ence,  Saint  Columba's  stone.     And  now 
the  midnight  hour  has  sounded.     Thir 
teen  hundred  years  ago,  at  this  hour  last 
night,  Columba  lay  dying  on  the  altar 
steps  of  lona.  '  Raise  my  hand,'  he  feebly 
cried,  '  that  I  may  bless  you  all ;   higher 
still,  that  I  may  bless  my  loved  oak  groves 
and  those  that  dwell  therein.'  Let  us  now 
before  we  part,  turn  to  the  altar  and  ask 
Our  Lord  to  let  Columba  repeat  that  same 
blessing  to-night.  May  every  annual  feast 
of  his  be  kept  in  this  church  as  to-day's 
has  been.     That,  and  that  God  may  bless 
and  reward  you  all  who  have  helped  in 
these  days'  work,  is  my  prayer  to-night, 
as  it  shall  be  my  Mass  in  the  morning." 

All  were  then  dismissed  with  a  blessing, 
and  the  scene  at  the  Long  Tower  finally 
closed. 


CHILDREN  PRESENTING  FLOWERS  TO  OUR  LADY.  1 

I  have  gathered  flowers  for  my  Queen  to-day, 
Roses  fair  to  behold ; 


My  angel  will  bear  them  far  away 

To  realms  of  joy  untold 

Five,  I  found  by  the  Holy  Child, 

All  white  with  His  purity  ; 

Five,  I  plucked  on  the  darkened  way 


Which  ended  in  Calvary, 

Five  are  bathed  in  the  golden"  light 

That  shines  from  eternity,. 

Roses  tair  to  behold, 

White,  and  crimson,  and  gold. 

Mother,  I  offer  them  trustingly, 

Take  thou  the  roses,  and  pray  for  me. 


PRIESTS    WHO    ASSISTED    DURING    THE    NOVENA,    OR    WERE    PRESENT    AT    THE    CELEBRAT[ONS    IN 

1897    OR     1898. 

I.  Rev.  Patrick  O.  H.  Blaney,  C.C.,  Buncrana.  »•  Rev.  James  O'Kane,  P.P.,  Cappagh,  Co.  Tyrone. 

T,.   Rev.  Charles  Kelly,  P.P.,  Drumquin,  Co.  Tyrone. 
Rev.  William  T.  O'Doherty.'p.P,  Newtownstewart     S.   Rev.  Philip  O'Doherty,  P.P.,  M.R.I.A.   Claudy.Co.  Derry 


SAINT   COLUMBA'S  NOVENA,    1897  AND    1898. 


AS  soon  as  arrangements  had  been 
made    for   the    erection    of    a 
suitable  Calvary,  the  members 
of  the  Sacred  Heart   Sodality 
set  about  the  more  lasting  and 
appropriate    work    of    preparing    for    its 
unveiling   by  a   Nine   Months'    Novena, 
on  the  lines  indicated  in  the  following 
leaflet: — 


7THE  Members  of  the  Sacred  Heart  Sodality 
who  wish  to  honour  Jesus,  the  Dove  of 
the  Tabernacle,  by  honouring  Columba,  the 
Dove  of  the  Church,  are  requested  to  join  in 
a  Novena  of  First  Fridays,  commencing 
October,  1897. 

Members    joining    in    the    Novena    will    be 
expected — 

I.  To  receive  Holy  Communion  on  the  First 
Fridays,    or    on    the    first    Sundays    of    each 
Month. 

I 1 .  To   hear    week-day    Mass,    as    often    as 


possible;  at  least  twice   a  week,   if  work   and 
health  permit. 

III.  To  visit  the  Blessed  Sacrament ;  daily, 
if  possible;  at  all  events,  as  often   as   is   con 
venient  during  each  week. 

IV.  To  make  the  Stations  of  the  Cross   at 
least  once  a  week,  preferably  on  Fridays,  for 
the  Souls  in  Purgatory,  and  to  do  all  one  can 
by  way  of   Prayer,  Total   Abstinence,    Heroic 
Offering,   Self-Denial,   Forgiveness  of  Injuries, 
Good  Works,   Almsdeeds,  &c.,   for  those  souls 
in    Purgatory   who    are    dear    to    the    Sacred 
Heait,   to  the    Immaculate    Conception,  or   to 
St.  Columba. 

V.  To  pray  for  the  intentions  of  each  other 
as   well   as   for    the    General  Intentions  of   the 
Novena. 

Mass,  for  the  intentions  and  welfare  of  those 
making  the  Novena,  will  be  offered  twice  each 
week  during  the  Nine  Months,  as  well  as  once 
each  day  during  the  nine  days  preceding  the 
Feasts  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  (Dec.  8), 
St.  Patrick  (March  17),  and  Our  Lady  of  Good 
Counsel  (April  26). 

May  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  be  every 
where  loved. 


'•THK    GOOD    SHKHHKKI). 


THE    CALVARY. 


T 


HE  erection  of  the  Calvary  was 
entrusted  to  Mr.   Daniel   Gil- 
lespie,      the      figures      being 
modelled   and   cast   in   bronze 
metal    by    Messrs.    Mayer,    of 
Munich.     The  actual  cost  of  the  group 
as  it  stands  was  about  ^400,  which  was 


inasmuch  as  all  who  contributed  were 
supposed  to  be  engaged  in  the  work  of 
the  novena,  and,  therefore,  preferred  their 
alms,  like  their  Eucharistic  offerings,  to 
be  known  to  God  alone.  A  plain  canopy, 
to  protect  the  figures  a  little  from  the  in 
clemency  of  the  weather,  is  about  to  be 


CALVARY,    LONG    TOWER. 


made  up  by  the  Promoters  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  Sodality,  and  their  friends.  A 
balance  of  .£100  was  cleared  off  at 
Christmas,  1898,  by  the  generous  and 
spontaneous  offerings  of  the  young  men 
belonging  to  the  Sodality.  There  has 
been  no  list  of  subscriptions  published, 


erected,  the  cost  having  been  already  de 
frayed  by  the  same  fervent  young  men, 
who  wiped  out  the  balance  of  the  debt 
against  the  statuary.  The  Calvary  was 
unveiled  and  blessed  by  the  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  O'Doherty,  on  June  pth,  1898.  We 
have  already  detailed  the  Indulgences 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


and  favours  granted  to  it  by  Our  Holy 
Father,  Pope  Leo  XIII. ;  from  the 
"  Deny  Journal"  (June  loth,  1898)  we 
copy  the  following  account  of  the  cere 


monial,  which  is,  we  believe,  from  the 
pen  of  Mr.  Thomas  O'Kane,  the 
able  and  courteous  reporter  of  the 
'"Journal":  — 


FEAST   OF   SAINT   COLUMBA. 


Yesterday  was  the  Feast  of  Saint  Col- 
umba,  the  Patron  Saint  of  Derry,  and  the 
auspicious  event  was  celebrated  by  the 
Catholic  citizens  with  all  the  manifesta 
tions  of  religious  fervour  becoming  so 
great  an  occasion.  It  -was.  a  day  which 
Avill  long  be  remarkable  in  the  history  of 
Catholic  Derry,  and  which  must  ever  be 
cherished  in  affectionate  local  recollec 
tion.  Last  year  was  celebrated  the  thir 
teenth  centenary  of  the  Saint,  and  those 
who  were  privileged  to  be  present  at  the 
Long  Tower  in  celebration  of  that  his 
toric  event  will  not  easily  forget  the 
glorious  and  magnificent  manner  in  which 
Derry  people  carried  it  out.  That  cele 
bration,  however,  had  a  wider  era  of 
Catholic  rejoicing,  for  far  and  near, 
wherever  the  Irish  race  had  a  home,  and 
their  Celtic  eloquence  found  a  platform, 
in  the  cities  of  America,  as  well  as  in  the 
historic  mountain  sides  of  old  Tyrconnell 
by  his  native  Gartan,  learned  tongues 
spoke  of,  and  saintly  pastors  dwelt  on, 
the  life  and  career  of  Ireland's  great 
saint,  patriot,  and  poet. 

Yesterday,  however,  the  celebration 
was  quite  local,  but,  if  possible,  more 
earnest  and  intense  than  even  last  year's. 
No  one  that  saw  that  remarkable  de 
monstration  of  enthusiastic  fervour  and 
piety  which  the  Catholics  of  Derry  made 
amidst  the  historic  surroundings  of  the 
Old  Long  Tower  can  ever  let  it  fade 
from  memory.  Nor  were  those  religious 
manifestations  confined  to  one  day,  for 
all  through  the  novena  the  most  evtra- 
urdinary  devotion  existed.  From  5  a.m. 
till  ii  p.m.,  when  the  doors  were  closed, 


the  church  was  thronged  by  an  eager, 
quiet  crowd  of  men  and  women  coming 
and  going,  bent  on  the  "  Way  of  the 
Cross."  "  Visits  to  the  Blessed  Sacra 
ment,"  or  "  Confession."  The  clack  of 
the  workman's  hammer,  giving  the  finish 
ing  touches  to  the  Calvary,  served  but  to 
deepen  the  devotional  associations  of  the 
place.  Not  less  than  two  thousand  must 
have  received  Holy  Communion  each 
morning. 

The  scenes  on  Wednesday  evening  pre 
sented  a  picture  unparalleled  in  the  re 
ligious  history  of  our  city.  The  Wells, 
and  all  the  streets  around  the  church, 
were  crowded.  Everybody  was  busy; 
some  with  the  decoration  of  their  own 
houses,  some  with  the  erection  of  the 
arches,  all  intent  on  paying  what  honour 
they  could  to  Saint  Columba  on  his  feast 
day.  As  night  came  on  the  muster  of 
people  in  the  Wells  was  so  great  that  the 
thoroughfares  around  were  completely 
blocked,  and  remained  so  until  near  the 
midnight  hour.  Every  now  and  then  the 
sound  of  the  "  Ave"  rose  above  and 
hushed  the  murmur  of  conversation. 
Hats  were  instantly  doffed,  and  a  portion 
of  the  rosary  recited.  But  impressive 
though  the  scene  here  was,  it  was  still 
more  striking  in  the  chapel-yard.  All 
through  the  day  and  evening  offerings  of 
flowers  were  arriving  for  the  decoration 
of  the  altars,  which  was  under  the  charge 
of  the  Nazareth  Nuns,  assisted  by  the 
teachers  of  Saint  Columba's  School 
(Misses  Murphy,  Hassan,  and  M'Clos- 
key),  and  also  by  Mrs.  M'Hugh,  Miss  Gal 
lagher,  and  Miss  Richardson.  The  effect 


164 


SAINT    COLUMBA. 


was,  indeed,  superb.  You  could  not  but 
feel  devotionally  inclined.  The  very  atmos 
phere  breathed  of  religion.  One  could 
hardly  resist  the  conjecture  that  the  air 
was  once  more  filled  with  the  white-robed 
angels  of  Columba's  visions.  The  hun 
dreds  of  red  sanctuary  lamps,  and  lighted 
candles  shed  a  radiance  that  contrasted 
admirably  with  the  tall,  white  lilies  and 
other  choice  or  fragrant  blooms  with 
which  the  sanctuary  was  most  tastefully 
adorned.  The  High  Altar,  where  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  was  enthroned  yester 
day,  looked  so  beautiful  and  fascinating 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  describe 
it  fittingly.  One  could  only  pray  and 
think  of  the  vision  in  the  Apocalypse, 
wherein  Saint  John  saw  the  Son  of  Man 
enthroned  amidst  the  golden  candlesticks 
and  odorous  vials,  while  angels  swung 
glowing  censers  before  Him,  and  saints 
in  heaven  prayed  in  unison  with  people 
on  earth. 

Above  the  sanctuary  doors  hung  two 
richly  embroidered  banners  of  silk,  bear 
ing,  one  a  representation  of  Our  Lord's 
Apparition  to  Saint  Columba,  and  the 
other  "  The  Saint's  Prayer  amongst  the 
Angels  of  the  Tabernacle.'1 

Yesterday  certainly  seemed  a  day 
blessed  by  heaven.  Not  a  cloud  over 
cast  the  clear  blue  sky,  and  the  sun  shone 
over  the  outdoor  ceremonies  with  a  bril 
liance  which  no  other  day  during  the  pre 
sent  season  has  known. 

The  Feast  had  dawned  before  some  of 
the  priests  could  rise  from  their  confes 
sionals,  and  here  we  should  state  that  the 
local  priests  were  very  much  assisted  by 
many  from  other  parishes.  (We  give 
the  names  and  photographs  of  these 
very  kind  friends  elsewhere,  as  also  the 
photographs  of  the  city  and  college 
priests. — W.  D.) 

The  first  Mass  was  announced  to  begin 
at  five  o'clock,  but  long  before  that  hour 
the  people  commenced  to  assemble.  The 
church  had  been  thoroughly  overhauled 
during  the  night,  and  the  passages  and 


stairways  tastefully  and  heavily  carpeted, 
so  as  not  only  to  give  a  neat  appearance 
to  the  place,  but  also  to  completely  deaden 
the  sound  of  footsteps.  Long  before  five 
it  was  deemed  necessary  to  begin  the 
Communion,  which  was  continued  al 
most  without  interruption  by  two  priests 
up  till  ten  a.m.  There  were  nine  Masses 
celebrated,  one  after  another,  as  con 
gregation  after  congregation  filled  the 
church.  No  confusion  existed,  though  the 
crowds  were  enormous,  and  not  a  single 
hitch  occurred  to  mar  the  regularity  and 
harmony  of  the  devotional  proceed 
ings. 

At  the  eight  o'clock  Mass  the  nave  was 
reserved  for  the  children  who  were  to 
communicate.  They  numbered  about 
800,  drawn  from  all  the  schools  of  the 
city,  and  presented  a  most  edifying  spec 
tacle  as,  in  regular  and  most  recollected 
order,  they  advanced  to  the  altar  rails. 
The  day  was  for  them  one  never  to  be 
forgotten,  and  should  rank  next  in  im 
portance  to  their  first  Communion  Day. 
In  years  to  come  the  memory  of  having 
taken  such  a  prominent  part  in  connec 
tion  with  such  a  glorious  event  as  the  un 
veiling  of  the  Calvary  is  one  that  will  be 
deeply  treasured  and  gratefully  boasted 
of.  Asked  during  the  day  what  he 
valued  most  in  the  proceedings,  Father 
Doherty  replied:  "The  children's  gene 
ral  communion,  unquestionably,  because 
of  the  fervour  they  themselves  displayed, 
and  because,  too,  of  the  care  their 
parents  took,  and  the  anxiety  and 
thoughtfulness  their  good  teachers  ex 
pended  to  make  the  event  memorable  in 
the  children's  lives  on  earth,  and  ever 
lastingly  enjoyable  by  all  after  death." 

Brother  Downey  (Christian  Brothers') 
and  Mr.  Michael  M'Cullagh  (Saint.  Col 
umba's  School)  took  charge  of  the  boys 
during  the  general  communion,  the  girls 
being  under  the  direction  of  Miss  C. 
Devine  (Saint  Eugene's),  Miss  A.  M'Clos- 
key  (Saint  Columba's),  and  Miss  Agnes 
Richardson  (Saint  Patrick's). 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


The  last  Mass  was  celebrated  by 
Father  Hugh  Boyle,  after  which  a  pro 
cession  was  formed  from  the  altar. 
Father  M'Keefry,  C.C.,  Waterside,  carried 
the  crucifix  in  front,  attended  by  acolytes 
with  lighted  candles.  Then  followed  the 
schoolboys'  choir,  under  the  able  leader 
ship  of  Mr.  Michael  M'Conalogue.  After 
them  came  the  altar  boys  and  a  number 
of  vested  priests,  including,  besides  the 
city  priests,  the  Rev.  Charles  Kelly,  P.P., 
Drumquin ;  the  Rev.  John  M'Conalogue, 
P.P.,  Termon;  and  the  Rev.  Philip 


much  cannot  be  said),  under  the  direc 
tion  of  their  teacher,  Miss  Anna  M'Clos- 
key,  sang  appropriate  verses  meanwhile. 
Father  Doherty  then  read,  by  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Bishop,  the  Papal  documents 
referring  to  the  Pope's  blessing  and  the 
Indulgences  to  be  attached  to  the 
Calvary,  amongst  which  was  a  Plenary 
Indulgence  to  all  who,  being  truly  con 
trite  and  properly  disposed,  had  taken 
part  in  that  day's  solemn  ceremonies,  or 
should  visit  the  church  or  Calvary  during 
the  day. 


CHOIR    AND    ALTAR    BOYS,    JUNE    ()TH,    1899. 


O'Doherty,  whom,  by  the  way,  everyone 
was  glad  to  see  back  again  from  far 
Australia.  The  Most  Rev.  Dr.  O'Doherty 
followed,  bearing  aloft  in  his  hands  the 
precious  relic  of  the  True  Cross,  in  its 
rich  and  chaste  reliquary.  Before  it,  as 
directed  by  the  rubrics,  two  boys  pro 
ceeded  swinging  thuribles. 

Arrived  at  the  Calvary,  his  Lordship 
first  incensed  the  relic,  and  then  gave  the 
solemn  blessing  with  it,  after  which  he 
proceeded  to  unveil  the  Calvary  figures ; 
the  schoolgirls'  choir  (in  whose  praise  too 


His  Lordship  then  read  the  prayers, 
after  which  he  told  the  assembled  people 
that  in  virtue  of  the  faculties  he  had  re 
ceived  from  the  Holy  Father,  he  had 
blessed  and  indulgenced  the  Calvary 
there  that  day.  Last  night  he  had  re 
ceived  a  telegram  from  his  Holiness,  em 
powering  him  to  give  the  Apostolic  Bene 
diction  to  all  present  at  the  inauguration 
of  the  Calvary.  He  asked  them  all  to 
kneel,  or  if  they  could  not  in  the 
crush  do  so,  to  at  least  bow  their 
heads. 


i66 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


The  immense  assemblage,  which  not 
only  filled  the  yard,  but  covered  the 
graveyards  and  roadways  as  far  up  as 
O'Neill  Street,  then  did  as  his  Lordship 
directed,  and  the  sight  was  singularly 
moving  and  impressive. 

The  children's  choir  then  sang  another 
hymn,  during  which  the  procession  re 
formed  and  returned  to  the  church,  where 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  exposed  and 
enthroned. 

The  day  was  practically  observed  as  a 
general  holiday.  The  large  shirt  fac- 


appropriate  religious  devices,  march  to 
the  church.  Their  visits  were  timed  to 
occur  between  twelve  and  three  o'colck, 
thus  filling  in  the  time  of  the  Three 
Hours'  Agony.  The  boys  wore  badges 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  medals  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception.  Their  neat 
appearance,  their  regular  and  uniform 
march  and  quiet  religious  mien  elicited 
much  well-merited  praise.  The  girls, 
however,  by  their  pretty  and  tasteful 
dresses,  mostly  white,  and  their  floral 
wreaths  and  veils,  attracted  most  atten- 


THE    UNVEILING    OF    THE    CALVARY    AT    SAINT    COLUMBA  S,  DERRY 


tories  had  all  given  their  employees  free 
dom  for  the  day,  and  the  girls  spent  most 
of  their  time  in  adoration  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  The  men,  too,  had  nearly 
all  managed  to  get  off  for  at  least  some 
hours,  which  were  faithfully  given  to 
most  earnest  and  edifying  supplication  in 
the  church,  or  before  the  Calvary. 

Arrangements  had  been  made  with  the 
various  teachers  whereby  the  children 
should  assemble,  each  in  their  own 
school,  and,  with  bannerettes  and  other 


tion.  The  anxious  care  of  many  a  mother 
in  the  handsome  adornment  of  her  little 
one  was  indeed  visible  on  every  side,  and 
parents,  teachers,  and  priests  must  surely 
have  been  gratified,  not  only  by  the  sight, 
but  by  the  edified  and  devotional  feelings 
it  occasioned.  To  the  teachers,  parti 
cularly,  the  visible  fruits  of  their  training 
must  have  given  cause  for  much  thank 
fulness  to  the  good  God,  to  Whose  Heart 
children  are  so  very  dear. 

The  order  of  the  school  visits  was  such 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


167 


that  while  one  was  at  the  Calvary  another 
was  in  the  church.  They  then  changed 
places.  One  of  the  priests  received  them 
on  their  arrival,  accompanied  them  into 
the  presence  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
and  then  conducted  them  to  the  Calvary, 
where  some  prayers  were  recited,  a  hymn 
sung,  and  the  blessing  with  the  Relic  of 


As  the  eye  wandered  through  the  re 
verent  crowd  about  the  church  or  in  the 
Wells,  and  caught  the  frequent  flutter  of 
the  little  ones'  white  dresses,  one  could 
not  help  feeling  that  the  scene  was  one 
to  remind  Saint  Columba  of  the  days 
when,  from  end  to  end,  he  beheld  Derry 
crowded  with  the  white-robed  angels  of 


CHILDREN'S  (GIRLS)  PROCESSION,   SAINT  PATRICK'S  SCHOOL. 


the  True  Cross  given,  after  which,  under 
the  guidance  of  their  teachers,  they  pro 
ceeded  to  the  Cathedral,  there  also  to 
adore  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  then 
back  to  their  school-room,  and  thence 
home. 


heaven.  On  all  sides  the  homely  remark 
was  heard  :  "  God  be  praised ;  will  we 
ever  see  the  like  again."  Happy,  indeed, 
were  the  children  who  were  privileged  to 
take  such  a  part  on  what  must  ever  be  re 
garded  as  a  most  memorable  day  in  the 


1 68 


SAINT  COLUMBA 


religious  history  of  our  city.  Proud  and 
happy,  too,  should  their  teachers  be,  in 
proportion  to  the  efforts  each  put  forth 
to  make  the  day  one  of  real  eucharistic 
devotion. 

We  cannot  conclude  our  notice  of  the 
Long  Tower  without  some  reference  to 
the  indefatigable  labours  of  the  excellent 
sacristan,  Mr.  Frank  Schlindwein,  to 
carry  out  all  the  arrangements  about  the 


keep  alive  the  people's  reverence  for  Saint 
Columba,  and  to  make  his  Feast  in  Derry 
always  a  day  of  earnest  Eucharistic  devo 
tion. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  rosary  was  recited 
in  the  Wells,  before  the  little  altar  which 
had  there  been  erected.  The  immense 
gathering  then  began  to  melt  slowly 
away,  but  as  it  seemed  in  vain  to  wait  for 
the  emptying  of  the  church,  it  was  de- 


ARCH,    "SWEET    HEART    OF    JESUS,    BE    THOU    MY    LOVE.' 


church  properly  and  successfully.  His 
efforts  merited  and  received  the  warmest 
appreciation  of  the  whole  congregation. 
Things  could  not  have  been  better  man 
aged. 

At  a  quarter  past  seven,  the  Promoters 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  Sodality  assembled, 
and  with  lighted  candles  in  their  hands, 
renewed  their  act  of  consecration  before 
the  altar,  and  resolved  to  do  their  best  to 


cided  to  remove  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
at  10-45  P-m->  when  one  of  Derry's  most 
glorious  days  came  to  an  end. 

In  the  districts  immediately  adjoining 
the  Long  Tower  five  arches  had  been 
erected,  beautiful  in  design  and  taste 
fully  finished.  Four  of  these  occupied 
positions  at  Saint  Columba's  Wells,  the 
fifth  taking  up  a  prominent  place  at  the 
junction  of  Long  Tower  and  Henrietta 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


169 


Street,  the  entire  five  being  hung  on  large 
poles  erected  at  either  side  of  the  streets, 
and  on  the  top  of  which  floated  various 
coloured  flags. 

Saint  Martin's  arch  was  erected  at  a 

point  near  Fahan  Street.  It  was  decor 
ated  with  laurel  and  holly,  forming  well- 
defined  squares,  a  large  number  of  roses 
in  studied  order  adding  considerably  to 
its  appearance,  the  entire  being  sur- 


lettering,  also  from  one  of  Saint  Col- 
umba's  hymns:  — 

"  The  reason  I  love  Derry  is  for  its 
purity,  for  its  holiness ;  crowded  full  of 
heaven's  angels  is  every  leaf  of  the  oaks 
of  Derry." 

This  arch,  it  may  be  stated,  was  erected 
on  the  site  of  where  Saint  Martin's  Church 
once  stood. 

The  next  arch  to  be  mentioned  is  that 


HOWARD    STREET    ARCH 


mounted  by  a  Celtic  cross.  The  centie- 
piece  on  one  side  bore  the  following 
words  from  a  hymn  of  Columba :  — 

"  Were  the  tribute  of  Alba  mine,  from 
its  centre  to  its  shore,  I  would  prefer  the 
site  of  one  cell  in  the  midst  of  fair  Derry." 
Underneath  this  being,  in  large  fancy 
lettering,  "  Derry  Columbkille."  On  the 
reverse  side  was  "  Saint  Martin,  pray  for 
us ; "  and  the  following  words,  in  artistic 


of  Saint  Columba,  by  the  side  of  Saint 
Columba's  well,  where,  as  tradition  states, 
the  Saint  performed  a  miracle  by  causing 
the  water  to  spring  up  when  he  required 
it  for  baptismal  purposes.  Like  the  arch 
already  described,  it  was  handsomely  de 
corated  with  an  abundance  of  evergreens 
and  roses.  The  motto,  "  Saint  Columba, 
pray  for  us,"  occupied  a  position  on  the 
archway,  while  the  centre-piece  showed 


170 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


the  fallowing  wording,  also  artistically 
lettered :  — 

"  How  my  barque  would  fly,  were  its 
prow  turned  towards  my  loved  oak 
grove." 

The  whole  was  surmounted  by  a  beau 
tiful  Celtic  cross,  a  dove  perched  on 
either  side.  On  the  reverse  side  was  a 
very  fine  centre-piece  figure  of  Saint  Gol- 
umba,  painted  by  Mr.  Frank  Schleind- 
wein,  and  under  which  were  the  words  of 


The  last  of  the  series  of  arches  erected 
in  this  district  stood  at  the  foot  of 
Howard  Street,  at  a  spot  near  Saint 
Eunan's  Well.  It,  too,  was  exquisitely 
decorated,  and  had  on  each  side  as  a 
centre-piece,  a  beautifully  wrought  sham 
rock,  symbolical  of  three  Irish  saints. 
Immediately  over  the  archway  on  one 
side  is  the  words  : "  Cineal-Conal,  Cineal- 
Eion,"  the  words  representing  the  clans 
O'Donnell  and  O'Doherty,  and  the  motto 


STREET    ALTAR    IN    WELLS,    WITH    A    GROUP    OF    THOSE    WHO    ERECTED    THE    ARCHES,    1898. 


Saint  Columba,  "  My  soul  to  Derry." 
Over  the  archway  on  this  side  appeared : 
"  Death  in  faultless  Erin  is  better  than 
perpetual  life  in  Albion." 

The  third  arch,  erected  a  little  further 
on,  and  nearer  the  church,  was  like  the 
others,  chastely  finished.  The  fine  let 
tering  on  the  archway  of  one  side  had  the 
prayer  :  "  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  pray  for 
us,"  and  in  the  same  position  on  the  other 
side,  "  Mary,  conceived  without  sin,  pray 
for  us  who  have  recourse  to  you." 


on    the    reverse    side    being,    "  Patrick, 
Brigid,  and  Columba." 

The  most  beautiful  of  all  the  arches 
was  that  erected  a  short  distance  from 
the  upper  gate  of  the  Long  Tower 
Chapel.  The  colouring  was  most  effec 
tive,  the  entire  centre-piece  on  either  side 
being  a  blue  background,  bearing  a  star 
surrounded  by  snow-white  clouds.  The 
arrangement  of  the  white  lily  flowers  and 
evergreens  contrasted  well  with  the  dif 
ferent  hues.  The  wording  on  one  side 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


171 


was :  "  Sweet  Heart  of  Mary,  be  my 
salvation,"  and  on  the  reverse  : 
"  Sweet  Heart  of  Jesus,  be  Thou  my  love." 
Near  the  arch  of  Saint  Columba  at  the 
Wells  stood,  a  little  in  off  the  roadway,  a 
magnificent  altar,  upon  which  stood  a 
large  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  on 
the  one  side  of  which  was  a  figure  of 
Saint  Martin,  and  on  the  other  a  figure 
of  Saint  Eunan.  The  colouring  was  done 
in  a  commendable  manner,  being  draped 


narcissus,  the  monogram  "A.M."  (Ave 
Maria).  Overhead  was  suspended  the 
school  banner  of  Our  Lady  of  Good 
Counsel,  and  to  the  sides  most  artistic 
bannerettes  of  rich  silk,  fringed  with 
gold,  ensconsing  pretty  oil  paintings — 
(i)  of  Saint  Agnes,  presenting  little  girls 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  and  (2)  children 
offering  flowers  to  the  Infant  Christ. 

A  most  effective  and  touching  statue 
of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes  surmounted  the 


AT    SAINT    COLUMBA  S    SCHOOL. 


in  white  and  blue  materials,  and  daintily 
arranged  with  lilies  and  forget-me-nots. 
Tiny  lamps  burned  before  Our  Lady's 
picture,  and  other  illuminants  glowed  in 
front  of  each  of  the  other  figures.  The 
altar  was  an  object  of  much  admiration 
during  the  day. 

Outside  the  porch  of  Saint  Columba's 
Schools  a  very  pretty  altar  was  erected. 
The  front  was  made  to  resemble  a  moss 
bank,  over  which  ivy  was  twining,  and 
into  which  was  deftly  inserted,  in  white 


temporary  altar,  which,  being  just  within 
the  chapel-yard,  at  once  caught  the  eye 
of  every  individual,  and  so  attuning  the 
mind  to  holy  thoughts,  at  once  demanded 
silence,  and  gave  a  deeply  religious  tone 
to  the  entire  crowd. 

It  is  also  but  right  to  mention  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Saint  Columba's  Wells, 
O'Neill  Street,  and  generally  all  around 
the  church,  had  their  houses  most  taste 
fully  decorated,  oak  leaves  and  pictures 
of  Saint  Columba  being  very  prominent. 


172 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


Nearly  all  displayed  pictures  or  statues  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  or  Immaculate  Con 
ception,  before  which  a  tiny  lamp  was 
kept  burning. 

Editorial,  "  Derry  Journal,"  June  loth, 

1898. 

There  are  no  words  needed,  but  as  a 
record,  in  referring  to  the  scene  yester- 


of  reverent  worshippers  as  the  venerated 
prelate  of  the  diocese  began  the  solemn 
functions  of  the  day,  told  in  mute,  but 
eloquent,  testimony  how  deeply  the  hearts 
of  the  people  were  reached.  As  the 
sacred  ceremonies  proceeded  amid  a  pro 
found  silence,  broken  only  by  the  touch 
ing  hymnal  from  the  gentle  harmonies  of 
the  children  choirs  of  the  schools,  or  the 


ARCH,  1898. 


day  witnessed  in  the  Old  Long  Tower 
grounds.  Any  attempt  at  the  embellish 
ment  of  language  would  be  in  excess  of 
the  occasion,  and  paltry  in  the  associa 
tion.  The  spectacle  was  in  itself  sub 
lime.  Catholic  eyes  have  looked  on  no 
thing  at  all  approximating  it  in  majestic 
impressiveness  since  pre-Reformation 
days  in  the  Derry  of  Columbkille;  and 
the  deep  hush  that  fell  on  the  thousands 


voice  of  the  prelate  in  the  solemn  for 
mula  prescribed,  it  was  not  possible  but 
to  feel  that  those  present  were  participat 
ing  in  what  was  not  merely  of  itself  a 
great  occasion,  but  one  that  would  carry 
its  lesson  beyond  the  present  generation, 
telling  to  the  far  future  how  true  was  the 
spirit  of  the  people  who,  in  this  year  of 
1898,  assembled  with  their  bishop  and 
priests  to  do  fitting  honour  to  the  memory 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


'73 


of  the  saint-monk  of  the  Dubh-Regles  of 
Deny.  No  one  who  had  the  privilege 
— an  inestimable  privilege — to  be  present 
is  ever  likely  to  forget  the  thrill  that 
passed  through  the  vast  multitude  at  the 
exaltation  of  the  relic  of  the  True  Cross, 
and  again — in  a  moment  of  intense  and 
reverential  expectancy — when  the  group 
of  the  Calvary  was  unveiled,  disclosing  a 
superb  representation  of  the  great 
mystery  of  suffering,  of  sorrow,  and  of 
hope.  A  murmur  of  prayer  came  spon 
taneously  from  the  assemblage  as  with 
the  sound  of  a  summer's  sea.  A  very 
multitude  was  vibrant  with  pent  devo 
tion.  Sublime,  indeed,  as  we  say,  the 
spectacle  was.  So  moving  a  scene  we 
ran  hardly  expect  ever  again  to  behold. 


And  we  do  not  extend  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  record  when  we  recall  another  fea 
ture,  to  be  ever  vivid  in  the  minds  of  all 
who  formed  the  assemblage.  It  is  when 
the  ceremonial  proper  concluded,  there 
stood  up  to  address  the  people  the  priest 
whose  idea  found  splendid  fulfilment  in 
the  work  of  this  memorable  great  day. 

We  have  but  another  word  to  add  :  it 
is  in  tribute  to  the  people ;  to  the  poorer 
people,  too.  Their  intelligent  sympathe 
tic  perception  of  the  obligations  placed 
upon  them  by  the  festival  and  its  notable 
incidents  was  very  marked,  as  their  devo 
tion  was  exemplary.  They  have  borne 
themselves  as  becomes  the  brave,  good 
Catholic  community  of  Derry. 


GARTAN,    JUNE,    1898. 


AMONGST  the  subsequent  events 
in   connection  with   the   cele 
bration,  special  attention  may 
be  drawn  to  the  "  Pilgrimage 
to     Gartan,-:     organized     r.nd 
most   successfully   carried   out  by  those 


whose  photographs  appear  in  the  accom 
panying  picture. 

In  October  the  Nine  Months*  Novena 
was  begun  again,  at  the  earnest  request 
of  the  promoters  of  the  Sodality;  and 
Our  Holy  Father  has  since  given  his 


DEKRV    PILGRIMS    AT    GAKTAN,    JUNE,    1898. 


'74 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


sanction  most  fully  to  it  by  granting  a 
Plenary  Indulgence  to  all  communions 
made  in  connection  with  it  in  the  Long 
Tower  Church,  on  the  First  Friday  or 
First  Sunday.  This  favour  will  continue 
for  seven  years,  and  is  extended  to  all 
communicants  on  the  above  days, 
whether  members  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
Sodality  or  not.  The  Novena  began  on 
the  First  Friday  of  October,  and  ends  on 
the  pth  .of  June,  the  Feast  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  (this  year),  as  well  as  of  Columba. 
The  pious  practices  for  the  Novena  are 
outlined  in  the  leaflet  reproduced  else 
where.  This  volume  is  intended  as  a 
Souvenir  not  only  of  the  two  past  Festi 
vals  but  also  of  this  year's  (1899)  Feast. 
It  is,  therefore,  to  be  earnestly  hoped 
that  all  into  whose  hands  it  may  fall  be 
fore  that  date,  will  join  in  the  Novena, 
and  thereby  secure  a  share  in  the  Masses 
still  to  be  celebrated.  It  may  be  well  to 
add,  that  though  no  attempt  will  be  made 
to  resume  it  on  the  same  scale  as  in  pre 
vious  years,  that  the  Novena  will  com 
mence  again  on  the  First  Friday  of 
October,  1899,  and  end  on  Saint  Col- 
umba's  Day,  1900. 

'•'May  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  be 
everywhere  loved." 

ST.  COLUMBA'S  DAY. 

June  gth  (Feast  of  the  Sacred  Hearf),  1899. 

SACRED  HEART  SODALITY,  LONG  TOWER,  DERRV. 

In  1898,  St,  Columba's  Day  fell  on  Corpus 
Christ! ;  in  1899  it  will  fall  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Sacred  Heart. 

It  was  Our  Lord  Himself  who  requested  that 
the  Feast  of  His  Sacred  Heart  should  be 


celebrated  on  the  Friday  after  the  Octave  of 
Corpus  Christi. 

As  members  of  the  Sacred  Heart  Sodality  we 
are  bound  to  honour  that  Feast,  but  when  it 
happens  to  be  also  St.  Columba's  Day  we  are 
still  more  particularly  bound  to  solemnize  it. 

Our  Lord  has  Himself  indicated  the  Novena 
of  First  Fridays  as  the  devotion  most  pleasing 
to  His  Sacred  Heart.  We  shall  therefore 
commence  that  Novena  again  on  the  First 
Friday  of  October.  Those  who  cannot  go  to 
Communion  on  the  Friday  may  choose  any 
Saturday  or  Sunday  in  the  month  ;  preferably 
the  First  or  Third  Sunday. 

Arrangements  have  already  been  made 
whereby  Mass  will  be  offered  every  day  during 
the  Novena  from  the  Feast  of  the  Exaltation  of 
the  Cross  (September  14)  until  June  9  for  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  welfare,  as  well  as  for 
the  intentions  of  all  doing  the  Novena. 

Special  arrangements  will  be  made  for  the 
days  preceding  the  Feasts,  on  which  a  Plenary 
Indulgence  has  been  granted  to  the  Long  Tower 
by  reason  of  the  Calvary,  namely,  the  Immacu 
late  Conception  (December  8),  St.  Patrick's 
Day,  Our  Lady  of  Good  Counsel  (April  26), 
and  the  Feasts  of  the  Holy  Cross. 

Members  doing  the  Novena  will  be  expected 
besides  communicating  monthly, 

1 .  To  attend  daily  Mass  as  often  as  possible ; 
at  least  twice  a  week. 

2.  To  visit  the  lUesr.ed  Sacrament  often. 

3.  To  make  the  "  Way  of  the  Cross  "  at  least 
once  a  week — preferably  on  Fridays. 

4.  To   do   all    they   can    by    way   of  prayer 
almsdeeds,   works  of  mercy  or  kindness,   tota 
abstinence,  &c.,  for  the  relief  of  those  souls  in 
Purgatory   dear  to   the   Sacred    Heart,    to   the 
Immaculate  Conception,  or  to  St.  Columba. 

5.  To  pray  more  fervently,  and  think  more 
frequently  of  Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph. 

6.  To  pray  for  the  intentions  of  one  another 
as  well    as    for    the    General   Intention    of    the 
Novena. 

SPECIAL  "  ACTS  OF  REPARATION." 

The  "  Holy  Hour "  on  Thursday  evenings 
and  the  "  Heroic  Offering  "  at  the  Calvary  for 
the  time  of  the  Novena  or  for  life  are  particu 
larly  recommended  as  "  Acts  of  Reparation  " 
during  the  Novena. 

May  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  be  everywhere 
loved. 


[     >75     ] 


THE   CALVARY    AND    ITS    LESSONS. 


THE    word    "  Calvary"    means    a 
"  skull,"  and  was  applied  to  the 
scene    of    Our   Lord's    Cruci 
fixion   either   from   the   bare, 
scalp-like    appearance   of   the 
hillock,  or  from  the  fact  that  it  may  have 
been  a  place  of  common  execution,  and 
that,    therefore,    skulls   may    have    been 
lying  about.       Still  another  explanation 
is  derived  from  the  old  tradition  which 
speaks    of    Adam's    skull    having,    been 
buried  in  that  identical  spot  by  one  of 
the  sons  of  Noah.     It  is  this  latter  tradi 
tion  that  has  given  rise  to  the  custom  of 
placing  a  skull   and  crossbones   on  the 
feet  of  crucifixes. 

We  speak  of  "  Mount''  Calvary.  But 
though  Jerusalem  is  surrounded  by,  and 
built  upon,  mountains,  Calvary  can 
hardly  be  termed  even  a  hill.  The 
Gospels  do  not  so  style  it.  They  say 
merely  "  they  came  to  the  place  that  is 
called  Golgotha,  which  is  the  place  of 
Calvary"  (Matt,  xxvii.  33).  "  Calvary," 
Father  Gallwey  says,  "  was  merely  a 
small  plateau,  raised  about  twenty  feet 
above  the  surrounding  ground,  and  mea 
sured  about  sixty  feet  from  east  to  west, 
and  about  fifty  feet  from  north  to  south." 
It  lay  at  a  distance  of  about  400  yards 
from  the  Judicial  Gate,  where  He  met  the 
women.  A  deep  ditch — the  city  fosse^ — 
thus  lay  between  Calvary  on  the  eastern 
side  and  the  city.  It  was  in  a  deep  hole 
in  this  fosse  that  Saint  Helena  afterwards 
discovered  the  True  Cross  and  other  re 
lics  of  the  Passion.  The  fosse  swept 
round  the  southern  end  of  Calvary,  thus 
leaving  an  abrupt  declivity  on  the  eastern 
and  southern  sides.  The  western  side 
sloped  gently  down  towards  a  public 
pathway,  on  the  verge  of  which  was  the 
"  Stone  of  Unction,"  where  they  anointed 
and  shrouded  the  Body  of  Our  Lord,  and 
across  which  was  the  garden  of  Joseph 
of  Arimathea,  where  the  newly-made 


grave  (about  90  feet  from  where  the  Cross 
stood)  awaited  its  Divine  occupant.  The 
northern  end  of  Calvary  was  on  a  level 
with,  and  a  continuation  of,  the  high 
ground  which  swept  down  from  the  slope 
of  Mount  Scopus.  Calvary  was  then  a 
kind  of  peninsula,  connected  with  the 
main  level  on  the  northern  side,  and  ris 
ing  abruptly  above  its  surroundings  on 
the  other  sides,  especially  the  eastern  and 
southern. 


True-  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  can  only  he 

kept  alive  by  frequent   visits  to  the 

Blessed  Sncratnent 


On  Good  Friday  the  celebrant  remains 
prostrate  at  the  foot  of  the  Altar,  whilst 
other  priests  prepare  the  Altar  for  the 
Sacrifice.  This  is  to  remind  us  of  how 
when  Our  Lord  reached  Calvary,  He  fell 
exhausted  the  third  time,  and  was  left 
where  He  fell,  or  else  thrown  into  the 
rocky  prison,  which  tradition  still  points 
out,  to  await  the  final  preparations  for  the 
awful  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross.  The  hole 
has  to  be  dug,  the  beams  have  to  be 


176 


S4INT   COLUMBA. 


fastened,  other  preliminaries  have  to  be 
gone  through.  Meantime  they  offer  Him 
opiated  wine  to  drink.  "  The  effect  of 
the  draught  would  be  to  dull  the  nerves, 
to  cloud  the  intellect,  to  provide  an 
anaesthetic  against  some  part,  at  least,  of 
the  lingering  agonies  of  that  dreadful 
death ;  but  He  who  came  to  suffer  and 
to  die,  would  not  spare  Himself  the  throe 
of  one  agonising  thought,  or  seek  to  still 
the  throbbing  of  one  lacerated  nerve." 

They   stripped   Him   of   all  His   gar 
ments,  except  the  "  linen  drawers"  pre- 


Heart  to  Heart  in  the  Adorable  Sacrament 
of  the  Altar. 

scribed  in  Leviticus.  The  cross — about 
15  feet  by  8  feet,  of  pine  wood,  such  as 
abounded  in  the  forests  of  Judea — lay  on 
the  ground.  A  rough  slab  of  wood  sup 
ported  the  feet ;  a  sedilia,  or  kind  of  sad 
dle-bar,  projecting  about  the  centre  of 
the  cross,  broke  the  weight  of  the  body, 
which  could  not  possibly  "  rest  upon  no 
thing  but  four  great  wounds."  Thrown 
upon  the  cross,  Our  Lord's  arms  and 
body  were  tied  to  it  by  those  leather 


thongs  which  are  now  amongst  the  most 
precious  relics  of  Aix-la-Chapel!e.  All 
being  ready,  His  right  hand  was  roughly 
brought  into  line  with  the  hole  that  had 
been  bored  in  the  wood.  The  fingers 
were  stretched  out,  and,  in  the  centre  of 
the  open  palm,  a  huge  iron  nail  was 
placed,  which,  by  the  blows  of  a  heavy 
mallet,  was  driven  home  deep  into  the 
wood.  Saint  Anselm  says  it  took  twelve 
blows  to  bed  the  round  head  of  the  nail 
in  the  soft  flesh  of  Jesus'  hand.  The 
executioners  then  turned  to  the  left  hand, 
and  dragged  it  until  the  palm  lay  over 
the  gimlet  hole,  some  of  them  kneeling 
the  while  upon  the  breast  to  flatten  out 
the  body  and  distend  the  dislocated  limb, 
so  as  to  make  it  reach  the  required  spot. 
Then  they  bid  Him  open  His  fingers, 
and,  obedient  even  unto  the  death  of  the 
cross — even  to  them,  He  does  so.  The 
large  blunt  nail  is  adjusted,  and  soon 
crunches  its  way  past  the  bones,  and 
through  the  sinews  and  muscles  of  that 
Sacred  hand  that  wrought  so  many  works 
of  charity  in  the  land  of  Israel.  Then 
the  legs,  which  have  cramped  and  con 
tracted  under  the  nervous  tension  in 
duced  by  the  nailing  of  the  hands,  are 
pulled,  and  racked,  and  dislocated  until 
the  feet  are  forced  into  position,  and  then 
through  the  shuddering,  quivering  mass 
of  nerves  and  sinews  the  rough  nails  are 
slowly  and  painfully  driven  home.  Sacred 
writers  compare  the  sounds  falling  upon 
Mary's  ears  to  the  dull  thud  of  sods  fall 
ing  upon  the  coffin  of  one  whom  we  love, 
but  it  must  have  been  immeasurably 
worse  than  even  that.  The  fresh,  red 
blood,  too,  spurted  from  the  pierced 
hands  and  feet,  and  splashed  the  arms, 
faces,  and  dresses  of  the  executioners  and 
bystanders.  It  is  only  standing  by  the 
foot  of  our  Calvary,  and  trying  to  think 
it  out,  that  the  full  revolting  horror  of  it 
all  dawns  upon  one's  mind. 

Saint  Anselm  tells  us  again  that  the 
wood  of  the  transverse  beam  is  thin,  that 


LUIS    MORALES,    PINX.J 
"  HETHAT  TAKETH  NOT  U?  HI  i  CROSS,  AND  FOLLOWETH   ME,   IS  NOT  WORTHY    OF   ME."    (ST.    MATT,X,38) 


CHRIST    MEETING    HIS    MOTHER. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


177 


the  nails  protrude,  and  that  they  turn  the 
cross,  with  the  face  of  Christ  pressing 
down  upon  the  rock,  until  they  rivet  those 
two  nails  and  clench  them  firmly  back 
into  the  wood.  Now  they  drag  the  cross, 
with  its  precious  burthen,  along  the 
ground  about  25  feet,  raise  it  in  their 
arms,  and,  by  means  of  ropes,  steady  it 
over  the  hole  dug  and  quarried  in  the 
rock,  and  then,  with  a  sickening 
thud,  let  it  fall  down  and  stay  it 
in  its  place. 

Over  the  remaining  scenes  I  cannot 
linger,  except  to  point  out  what  our 
Calvary  attempts  to  accentuate.  Canon 
Farrar  says: — "Death  by  crucifixion 
seems  to  include  all  that  pain  and  death 
can  have  of  horrible  and  ghastly — dizzi 
ness,  cramp,  thirst,  starvation,  sleepless 
ness,  traumatic  fever,  tetanus,  publicity 
of  shame,  long  continuance  of  torment, 
horror  of  anticipation,  mortification  of 
untended  wounds,  all  intensified  just  up 
to  the  point  at  which  they  can  be  en 
dured  at  all,  but  all  stopping  short  of 
the  point  which  would  give  to  the  sufferer 
the  relief  of  unconsciousness.  The  un 
natural  position  made  every  movement 
painful ;  the  lacerated  veins  and  crushed 
tendons  throbbed  with  incessant  anguish, 
the  wounds  inflamed  by  exposure,  gradu 
ally  gangrened;  the  arteries — especially 
of  the  head  and  stomach  —  became 
swollen  and  oppressed  with  surcharged 
blood ;  and,  while  each  variety  of  misery 
went  on  gradually  increasing,  there  was 
added  to  them  the  intolerable  pang  of  n 
burning  and  raging  thirst."  In  our 
Calvary  the  cramp  of  the  limbs  and  the 
tetanus,  or  lockjaw,  has  been  very  touch- 
ingiy  brought  out  by  the  artist;  so,  too, 
the  swollen  veins  and  dislocated  limbs, 
the  pierced  hands,  and  visible  bones  ;  the 
blue  edging  round  the  red  wounds  speaks 
awfully  of  the  gangrene  that  is  going  on 
so  swiftly  all  over  the  torn  and  lacerated 
body  during  the  Three  Hours'  Agony,  so 
that  the  words  of  the  prophet  were  liter 
ally  fulfilled— "He  is  as  it  were  a  leper, 


one  stricken  by  God.  From  the  sole  of 
the  foot  unto  the  top  of  the  head  there  is 
no  soundness  in  Him,  only  wounds,  and 
bruises,  and  swelling  sores,  and  His 
wounds  are  not  bound  up  nor  dressed, 
nor  fomented  with  oil.  His  whole  head 
is  sick,  His  whole  heart  is  sad." 

The  festering  wounds  all  over  the  Body 
of  Christ — the  filth  with  which  He  was 
pelted — the  thongs  that  bound  Him — the 
projecting  bar  on  which  He  rested — why 
are  they  not  all  brought  out  in  pictures  or 


EFFECTS    OF    A    GOOD   COMMUNION. 

images  of  the  Crucifixion  ?  Because  the 
Church  does  not  aim  at  accuracy  of  his 
torical  detail — it  would  be  too  vivid,  too 
gruesome,  too  repulsive  in  its  hideous 
cruelty.  In  her  pictures,  crucifixes, 
calvaries,  pietas,  etc.,  she  intends  merely 
to  put  before  her  children  a  devotional 
representation — a  mere  outline  of  the 
bloody  tragedy  in  which  we  bore  such  a 
guilty  part — an  outline  that  we  must  fill 
in  for  ourselves  by  prayer;  that  is  by 
pondering  it  over  in  our  minds,  and 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


thinking  it  out  for  ourselves  while  we  say 
our  beads,  or  go  round  the  Stations. 

The  Calvary  is  a  place  rather  for  quiet 
meditation  than  for  vocal  prayer — rather 
a  place  to  stand  and  contemplate  the  con 
sequences  of  our  sins  than  for  any  out 
pouring  of  words.  The  church  is  the 
place  for  prayer ;  the  spot  where  He  who 
died  on  Calvary  now  lives  on  the  Altar. 
Standing  in  the  chapel  yard,  with  our 
gaze  on  the  Calvary,  we  should  forget 
that  there  is  anybody  else  in  existence 
but  ourselves  alone ;  that  He  died  for  us 
— never  mind  for  how  many  else — that 
we  were  the  guilty  cause  of  it  all;  that 
by  our  sins  we  still  crucify  Him  as  far  as 
in  us  lies  (Saint  Paul).  Saint  John  re 
presented  us  that  day  on  Calvary.  We, 
with  him,  were  bid  to  "  Behold  our 
mother"  in  Mary.  He  who  had  taught  us 
on  the  slope  of  Horn-Hattin,  and  again 
under  the  shades  of  Olivet,  to  call  His 
Father  "  Our  Father"  ("  Our  Father  who 
art  in  heaven''), taught  us  likewise  from  the 
Cross  to  call  His  Mother  "  Our  Mother." 
She,  too,  is  now  in  heaven,  and  though 
infinitely  beneath  God,  is  immeasurably 
above  us.  By  the  sorrows  of  Calvary  we 
beg  her  to  pity,  and  "  pray  for  us  sinners, 
.now  and  at  the  hour  of  our  death." 

That  evening — of  Good  Friday — when 
all  was  over,  and  darkness  had  cleared 
the  streets,  Mary  and  a  few  of  her  friends 
went  forth  from  their  home  on  Mount 
Sion,  and  visited  every  spot  hallowed  by 
the  presence,  or  marked  by  the  suffer 
ings,  of  Our  Lord  during  the  day  just 
past.  Their  way  thus  lay  along  the  "Way 
of  the  Cross" — the  road  over  which  He 
staggered  in  pain  and  agony.  Here  and 
there  they  paused  to  contemplate  for  a 
longer  period  some  particular  incident  of 
the  Passion.  They  stood — "  station"  is 
the  word  used  to  denote  a  stopping 
place ;  it  means  to  stand  for  a  while. 
Tradition  points  out  fourteen  such  places 
where  Mary  and  her  friends  stood  that 
night.  They  are  the  fourteen  Stations  of 
the  Cross.  Every  pilgrim  to  the  Holy 


Land  makes  it  a  point  to  tread  as  far  as 
may  be  in  the  actual  footsteps  of  Our 
Divine  Lord  on  that  eventful  day.  Vocal 
prayers  in  such  places,  under  such  cir 
cumstances,  are  out  of  the  question.  One 
can  only  think  of  what  happened  there, 
and  one's  own  part  in  it.  To  the  flow  of 
pious  feelings  and  hearty  sorrow  thus  en 
gendered,  the  Church,  in  virtue  of  her 
plenary  power  of  binding  and  losing,  at 
taches  all  the  blessings  and  indulgences 
she  can.  All  her  children  cannot,  how 
ever,  visit  those  sacred  shrines  ;  and  so,  as 
she  will  put  all  on  the  same  level,  and 
give  to  all  the  same  opportunities  of 
earning  for  heaven,  she  bids  her  clergy 
erect  fourteen  wooden  crosses  round  the 
walls  of  her  churches,  and  to  those  who 
go  round  them  in  the  state  of  grace,  paus 
ing  a  moment  at  each,  and  contemplating 
the  while  the  sufferings  of  Our  Lord,  she 
grants  the  very  same  privileges  as  if  they 
had  gone  barefooted  pilgrims  to  the  Holy 
Land,  and  knelt  in  the  places  reddened 
with  the  blood,  or  hallowed  by  the  suf 
ferings  of  Christ.  This  we  call  the 
"  Way  of  the  Cross ; "  and  to  it,  rather 
than  to  kneel  in  the  chapel-yard,  the 
Calvary  group  should  incite  us. 

Now,  I  turn  to  the  Relic  of  the  True 
Cross — the  material  link  that  connects 
our  Calvary  with  the  actual  Calvary  of 
nineteen  centuries  ago.  It  is  small,  but 
priceless,  necessarily  tiny,  when  we  con 
sider  how  many  are  anxious  to  get  ever 
so  microscopic  a  piece  of  it.  On  Good 
Friday  evening  the  Cross  was  thrown  into 
a  dry  cistern  that  opened  in  the  bottom 
of  the  fosse  to  the  southern  side  ot 
Calvary.  The  other  Relics  of  th'e  Pas 
sion,  the  Thorns,  etc.,  were  carefully 
gathered  that  night  by  loving  hands,  and 
are  still  preserved,  with  deepest  venera 
tion,  in  different  parts  of  the  Church. 
The  Cross,  however,  lemained  hidden 
until  the  ten  great  persecutions  had 
passed  by,  and  a  Christian  emperor  oc 
cupied  the  throne.  His  mother,  Saint 
Helena,  set  herself  the  task  of  purifying 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


179 


from  all  Pagan  contact  and  material  rub 
bish  the  Holy  Places.  Calvary,  of  course, 
had  her  chief  attention.  The  enormous 
mass  of  buildings,  etc.,  which  encum 
bered  it,  placed  there  by  Pagan  emperors 
in  the  hope  of  obliterating  its  traces,  were 
carefully  removed,  and  the  original  levels 
laid  bare.  Then  on  she  dug,  guided  by 
the  strong,  clear  traditions  of  Jerusalem, 
until,  on  the  3rd  of  May,  she  came  to  the 
spot  where  the  three  crosses  were.  God 
wrought  a  miracle  of  healing  to  identify 
the  True  Cross.  It  was  borne  in  triumph 
to  the  church,  and  fragments  of  it  sent 
here  and  there  throughout  the  Christian 
world.  The  greater  portion  of  what  re 
mains  unsevered  is  now  in  Saint  Peter's, 
Rome.  Little  pieces — generally  not  as 
large  as  the  head  of  a  pin — are  to  be 
found  in  various  parts  of  the  Christian 
world.  Wherever  preserved,  they  are  en 
titled  to  the  deepest  veneration,  for  they 
formed  part  of  the  heavy  load  which 
Jesus  bore  to  Calvary — under  which  He 
sank  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem — to 
which  He  was  nailed  on  Calvary.  Back 
over  the  ages  that  little  Relic  carries  our 
thoughts.  We  think  of  it  dyed  with  the 
Precious  Blood — vibrating  under  the 
blows  of  the  hammer — quivering  under 
the  weight  of  the  God-man,  as  each 
fresher  pang  of  agony  convulsed  His  de 
licate  frame. 

Saint  Helena  found,  likewise,  the 
rough  iron  nails  that  had  fastened  His 
hands  and  feet  to  the  Cross.  There  were 
other  nails,  too,  in  the  cross,  which  are 
regarded  as  no  less  sacred.  Those  that 
fastened  the  footboard  and  the  title; 
those  that  joined  the  two  beams  together, 
etc.  Besides  these,  some  portions  of  the 
True  Nails  were  filed  down,  and  the 
filings  inserted  in  fac-simile  nails.  These 
fac-similes  thus  contain  at  least-  portion 
of  the  Real  Nails,  and  have  been  often 
mistaken  by  ignorant  travellers  for  the 
originals.  Other  fac-similes  are  likewise 
made  and  touched  on  the  original  nail  in 
Sancta  Croce  Church,  Rome.  These  are 


easily  procured,  and  are  very  common 
throughout  the  Church.  (I  have  already 
given  one  to  most  of  the  Promoters,  and 
am  procuring  more  for  the  rest.) 

It  was  outside  the  fortress  of  Antonia, 
in  a  place  called  the  Lithostratos  (a  red 
tiled  court,  and  used  as  a  market-place), 
that  Our  Lord  was  scourged.  The  pillar 
to  which  He  was  bound  is  now  broken ; 
a  piece  remains  in  Jerusalem,  in  the 
Armenian  Convent;  the  larger  portion, 
which  is  a  kind  of  black  marble,  about 
three  feet  high,  is  in  the  Church  of  Saint 
Prassedes,  Rome.  The.  scourge  used 


He  who  died  on  Calvary  now  lives  on  the  Altar. 
Visit  Him  often. 


was  the  "  flagellum,"  or  bunch  of  leather 
thongs,  each  having  two  or  three  pieces 
of  bone  knotted  into  it.  We  can  well 
imagine  how,  under  such  a  lash,  the  flesh 
of  Jesus  was  literally,  as  the  prophet  had 
foretold,  "  dug  and  ploughed."  The 
scourging  lasted  an  hour,  when  He 
fainted,  and,  as  the  cordage,  fastening 
His  hands  to  the  iron  ring  of  the  column, 
was  cut  He  fell  unconscious  to  the 


i  So 


SAINT   COLUMBA. 


ground,  where,  in  the  pool  of  His  own 
Precious  Blood,  He  writhed  "  like  a  worm 
and  no  man."  Tertullian,  too,  tells  us 
that,  as  He  lay  unconscious  on  the 
ground,  they  kicked  Him  about,  "  quasi 
stipulam,"  as  if  He  were  a  football. 

When  He  had  recovered,  they  clothed 
Him  and  brought  Him  into  the  inner 
courtyard.  There  the  cruel  sport  of  the 
"  coronation"  suggested  itself  to  the 
soldiers.  He  called  Himself  a  King,  and 


placed  on  the  Divine  head,  and  pressed  it 
down  with  the  strong  end  of  a  reed.  They 
then,  as  the  prophet  had  said,  "  turned 
His  head  from  side  to  side,  while  in  His 
anguish  the  thorn  was  fastened  to  the 
soft  folds  of  flesh  above  the  jaw-bone  and 
at  the  eye-brow.  Then,  drawing  back  to 
contemplate  their  awful  work,  they  ap 
proached,  one  by  one,  bowing  before  Him 
with  the  salutation,  "Ave,  Rex  Judeorum," 
"Hail,  King  of  the  Jews."  They  spat 


MAGDALEN    AT    THE    FEET    OF    CHRIST. 


as  "  King  of  the  Jews"  they  would  mock 
and  deride  Him.  So  they  stripped  Him 
again,  and  threw  over  His  torn  and  bleed 
ing  shoulders  the  old  red  cloak  of  an 
officer ;  into  His  bound  hands  they  put  a 
reed,  as  if  it  were  a  sceptre ;  "  the  King 
must  have  His  crown,"  they  cry,  and  run 
to  the.  ditch  of  the  fortress,  where  the 
species  of  thorns  known  now  as  the  spina, 
was  growing  on  the  slope.  They 
gathered  a  bunch,  and  twining  them 
together,  formed  a  wreath  which  they 


upon  His  holy  face,  and  struck  Him  on 
the  mouth,  some  with  their  clenched 
hands,  some  with  sticks,  but  all  with  ter 
rible  cruelty. 

Here  I  may  pause,  and  ask  my  good 
readers  of  the  Sodality  to  turn  to  the 
opening  page  of  this  volume,  and  there 
contemplate  the  picture  of  Jesus  crowned, 
and  then  turn  to  the  last  page  and  there 
behold  the  "  Sorrowful  Mother"  pleading 
for  her  Divine  Son,  that  men  may  have 
pity  upon  Him,  and  cease  to  torture  Him 


SAINT    MARY    MAGDALEN,    PRAY    FOR    US. 


MATKK     1OI(|RO-A. 


SAINT  COLUMBA. 


181 


by  sin.  My  little  volume  is  thus  bound 
within  the  two  principal  figures  of  the 
<  'a  1  vary.  May  it  inspire  many  of  those 
to  whom  Derry  Columbkille  is  a  dear 
name,  to  repent  like  the  Magdalen  ;  and. 
like  her,  too,  to  pour  forth  the  treasures 
of  their  hearts  at  the  feet  of  Jesus. 

This  record,  such  as  it  is,  I  offer  to  the 
members  of  the  Sodality,  and  especially 
to  the  children  who  were  present  at  the 
('•eneral  Communion,  or  who  took  part  in 
the  various  processions  on  the  two  last 
Festivals  of  Saint  Columba.  May  our  holy 
patron  never  cease  to  regard  them  with 


pride,  and  may  they  never  cease  to 
honour  his  feast  with  true  Eucharistic 
devotion  on  the  spot  where  he  knelt  and 
prayed,  where  he  caught  those  never-to- 
he-forgotten  glimpses  of  altar  angels— 
where  Our  Divine  Lord  Himself  deigned 
to  appear  to  him  ;  where  "  his  soul  still 
lingers,"  attracted  even  from  heaven's 
jovs  by  the  love  he  bore,  and  still  bears, 
to  Derry,  and  especially  to  those  amongst 
her  little  children,  whose  i;  purity  and 
piety''  remind  him  of  the  olden  days 

When   crowded   full   of  heaven's  angels   was 
every  leaf  of  the  oaks  of  Derry. 


Sanctc  Columba.  ora  pro  me. 


'